Star Wars: The Arden Lyn Chronicles: The Dark Days
by Tenkai Nankobo 101
Summary: All that Arden Lyn ever knew is lost including Depa. Awakened from her grief, she is offered the chance to serve Emperor Palpatine as an Emperor's Hand. But a bond forged with a woman named Shira and a man named Paris Zaarin, son of the Admiral Demetrius, forces her down a path towards the completion of her true destiny. In a galaxy that is alien to her, Arden yet may find peace.
1. Prologue and Chapter One

Star Wars

The Arden Lyn Chronicles

The Dark Days

By

Christopher Cleveland & Diego Feliu

**Prologue**

From the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, Emperor Palpatine gazed up to his greatest creation as it slowly came to life. The Death Star was almost ready for its application in combat and Wilhuff Tarkin was certainly doing a superb job on its construction. However, the Dark Lord of the Sith felt hollow even so for he had yet to acquire someone he had longed to recruit: he wanted Arden Lyn in his ranks. Six months had come and gone since the day that Chiss Admiral Thrawn had informed him of her return from beyond the Unknown Regions, fighting the enemy that he had long held back and had defeated.

He couldn't wait any longer, not when his quarry was now so close to possibly becoming his ultimate prize. _A powerful individual such as herself cannot be allowed to remain rogue for any reason_ he told himself silently. "Captain Tarkin?" Palpatine asked into his comlink. "My liege?" was the reply.

"Inform my three finest Inquisitors that I have a special mission for them and they are to report to my headquarters at once," Palpatine ordered. "As you command, master. Do you wish to know the current progress on the Death Star?" Tarkin inquired. "Perhaps another time, for the moment, sending my Inquisitors on their way is all that concerns me," Palpatine said.

"Very well, milord," Tarkin said before cutting transmission. _Loyal servants like him always come in handy until they start demanding what they feel is rightfully theirs. The most annoying ones are the ones who feel the need for vengeance for reasons unknown_ he thought with a smile. It was then that he was surprised with both the speed and the efficiency with which his Inquisitors came.

However, this surprise was soon washed away by his pride at who the three had turned out to be. The first was his Grand Inquisitor Laddinare Torbin with Antinnis Tremayne flanking his left and Ameesa Darys on his right. "Excellent, the mission I have for you three is very top secret and requires no small amount of stealth and cunning. For this reason, I am glad that Torbin's tactical genius can be applied to it: on Irkalla, there lives a woman called Arden Lyn.

"Bring her to me alive or do not come back alive, yourselves. You will understand her importance to my plans better if you should be forced to face her in combat. However, I recommend avoiding this if at all possible," Palpatine explained. "I can probably sense her potential long before we even need to fight her, I'm proud that you have summoned me to this mission," Torbin replied.

Palpatine smiled, glad to see that Torbin's mind was still the way it was when he first began to train him in the Force. "Remember: I want her alive or else never return, am I understood?" he repeated, questioning especially the subordinates to Torbin with his last comment. "Personally, I don't see why she could be so special but I will obey your command, Master," Tremayne stated, bowing. Darys said nothing, she didn't need to and she was usually a more silent woman than most of Palpatine's servants at any rate though she acknowledged her understanding with a bow.

"Now go to Irkalla and fetch her from the cold depths of its caverns where she remains in a Trance even now," Palpatine commanded, waving his hand with authority as he did so. The trio of servants bowed in unison and left with Torbin marching first and the others following him, haplessly.

**Chapter One**

Grieving for Depa Billaba was a far more profound task than Arden thought it would be when she underwent the Trance. However, she managed to finally find a reason to smile: it was coming to an end and she would soon be able to begin actively pursuing a new life in the alien galaxy before her. But still, something that she had foreseen in what appeared to be her future disturbed her. It was the vision of a little girl who had long, flowing black hair much like Arden's own standing in front of an older man.

What significance did the girl and the man in white and gold have for her? Was this the future of her family life and if so, was the man the father and the girl their daughter? None of it made sense and she hoped that she learned what it meant before the end of her life now that she was no longer immortal. Slowly, she began to come out of her trance, a long and tedious process that was always painful whenever she accidentally hurried one of the steps towards her revival.

Irkalla was still cold and windy like she had remembered it being when she first went into the trance, the caverns were still dark and void of life as she had remembered. But most importantly, she was still very much alone as she had remembered being just before entering the Trance. It seemed her way in life, to be alone and in command of her destiny whenever people were not around. _Still, I often wonder if my life will soon be bound to others or if I'll always be a phantom outcast_ she thought.

The thought saddened her but she supposed it was better than remaining the insane woman that she had been when she had first awakened to the strange new universe around her. As she arose from her trance however, she began sensing presences approaching her lonely queendom. Presences that she had not sensed before nor would have invited into it before her trance if she hadn't wished. She knew she had to deal with these people before they got to the heart of her labyrinth and quickly.

Time was running out and Arden didn't want to be discovered by someone who had been forbidden from discovering her by Chiss Admiral Thrawn. _He promised that his troops would stay clear of my caverns as much as possible_ she reminded herself quietly. However, as she came closer to the approaching phantoms, she sensed that they were not Chiss nor even Republic. They were different with white armor from head to toe except for black visors and underneaths.

Was this a sign of the Empire that Thrawn had rather passively mentioned during their last encounter? How had they managed to find this planet considering its trajectory lying in the Unknown Regions of the Galaxy? It didn't add up and Arden was becoming worried that she might have been tracked down by someone from whom Thrawn couldn't protect her. She had to fight, there was no mistaking it and she began by shooting green bolts of Force Lightning at the enemy before her.

**Torbin sensed the dark** presence before even needing to see the carnage that had surely begun with the detection of his bait stormtroopers. Smiling, he told the other Inquisitors that their target had taken their bait and it was time to head out. "Hold on Torbin, I sense her presence in the Force too: do you really think we have what it takes to destroy her?" Darys asked. "If you don't have the stomach for a fight like this, you can wait here until Tremayne and I get back," Torbin answered wickedly.

"No, not at all. I just wonder if we should go into this with backup," Darys said. "You fool, do you even understand what your title means? For normal stormtroopers, we _are_ the backup if they're up against someone like this Arden Lyn. Now let's get a move on and bring her down for the Emperor," Torbin ordered.

Darys and Tremayne both nodded, following under the heel of their superior who would have waited for no one if he had been on his own. Because of her usage of the Dark Side of the Force, Torbin had no difficulty tracking Arden's every move nor any difficulty pinpointing her location. He had gotten used to having that capability with all beings his Master and perhaps, Lord Vader. Sometimes, even the Emperor's minor masterpiece caught the powerful Inquisitor off guard which was interesting.

But Torbin turned himself away from this mental digression on the prize of the game that was to be played. _Indeed this will most likely be one of the best fights that I have ever had in my life_ he thought to himself gleefully. He had had few challenges in his career as an Inquisitor and quickly rose up to be one of the leaders of his group but he longed for difficult opponents. And when he finally gazed upon the woman that caused the disturbance he had pinpointed he smiled for he wasn't disappointed.

"Arden Lyn, we meet at last. I am Grand Inquisitor Laddinare Torbin and beside me..." he began. "Enough formality, Jedi! Now you die for entering my caverns!" she exclaimed. Shooting bolts of green lightning that the Grand Inquisitor easily deflected, Arden used the distraction to ignite two sabers.

One of them had the green blade of a fallen Jedi though whether this was her own personal one or not, Torbin didn't know nor would care if he did. The other was an orange blade, more likely taken from somebody who had fallen that she had the pleasure of knowing than it was to be her own. Less likely, in fact, than the green one already was and Torbin calculated that it was also unlikely it was hers. Nonetheless, her charge with the usage of Jar'Kai against the Grand Inquisitor astounded him and almost swept him off feet that might have been severed by her blades if he hadn't been careful.

At his signal, Darys lunged with her own usage of the lightsaber form Juyo whilst Tremayne attacked with the full agility and power of Ataru. Torbin himself kept up a steady barrage of Makashi and even together, it seemed as though Arden could beat it all._ Impressive power, no Jedi would have lasted more than half a standard minute against this attack and she's already done better_ he observed to himself. Indeed, the Emperor had chosen wisely in requesting Torbin to bring two other Inquisitors to bring Arden Lyn into the folds of the Empire rather than let her keep on being rogue.

Indeed, her skills with a blade alone were worth bringing her into the fold of the Empire though he highly doubted this was the best that she could do. Thinking about this, Torbin became distracted again and Arden Lyn was quick to exploit it in the form of Force Pushing him against a wall. Then she proceeded to hack at Tremayne until he was almost out of Torbin's line of vision. Finally, she turned her attention back to Darys who she had kicked aside earlier with an impressive sweeping of her leg.

Torbin was about to get up and intervene when he recalled the abnormality of both the precision and the scale of the kick in proportion to her body. _Is this a Terras Kasi user?_ he asked himself silently, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. He watched as even Darys' introduction of her lightsaber being a saberstaff, he could not hold his own against Arden without the rest of the team. But of the two other Inquisitors, only Tremayne intervened though this was before Arden lopped off his legs.

Smiling, Torbin relished in his junior officer's suffering and used it to fuel his own recovery from Arden's blows. However, he didn't recover in time to avoid seeing Arden run Darys through with both of her blades. The young woman groaned in agony and barely managed to keep herself standing up before Arden threw her aside with the Force. Subsequently, in a fit of rage, Tremayne managed to disarm Arden of her lightsabers with his skill in Ataru and had his blade at her neck.

However, Arden conjured more lightning that Tremayne was forced to deflect with his blade, a distraction that worked to her advantage. After deflecting the electricity successfully, Torbin watched while collecting Darys' saber as Arden punched Tremayne five times in rapid succession. Two were aimed at the chest, one was aimed the lungs, another at his stomach, with the final resting on his nose. Torbin was especially amazed at how the punches beared such magnificent strength and precision as to have Tremayne coughing up blood whilst trying to keep his nose together.

Then Arden recalled her lightsabers over to her and ignited the blades in preparation to lay the killing blow on Tremayne. However, Torbin reignited both his saber and Darys' which beckoned a better challenge for the ancient warrior woman before him. Arden smiled, taking the bait that he threw at her and for what felt like eternity but was just a few minutes, the two of them exchanged blows. His use of Jar'Kai was excellent but it had not prepared him for the full barrage of Arden's own abilities in it.

As if that wasn't bad enough, she did incorporate some of the lesser known moves of Terras Kasi such as the kick he had observed earlier. Though he managed to dodge most, one scored a shot in his left jaw hard enough to send him spinning through the air. Fortunately, he used the Force to manipulate the currents of the air and his body movement so to levitate himself back on his feet. Then he charged back into the fray, having quickly recovered from the blow, defended against her next move.

For many seconds, their blades remained crossed with his blades taking the shape of an X in their defense of him and hers taking the shape of II in her attack on him. "This duel has drawn on long enough, it is time to end this," he said at last. Before she could confess her agreement on it though, he surprised her by separating her blades and exposing her chest to a quick stab from both his blades. Instead though, he only used one of his blades to sever her right arm which threw her into a universe of pain that she had never known before.

Immediately, she dropped the lightsaber that had been situated in her remaining hand (the orange one) and tried her best to tend to the stump. She made no screams which surprised Torbin as that was usually the reaction he got from people who lost their limbs before their own eyes. However, he could tell by her face that she didn't need a scream to indicate that it hurt too damn much. Torbin pitied her and was surprised that Tremayne had reignited his saber with the intention of killing her.

"No Tremayne, she must live," Torbin said, raising a hand to stop his remaining subordinate. "But Master, she killed Darys and injured me with her bare hands. She is too dangerous to be left alive!" Tremayne exclaimed. "If left alive and rogue yes but if alive and a servant of our Master, perhaps not," Torbin replied.

"I'll _never_ serve you," Arden hissed. "Oh no, no, no. You wouldn't be serving me, you would be serving my superior. Come with us and hear his offer, I am sure he will think of a most generous one for you," Torbin replied calmly and meticulously.

He used his smile to prey on the innocence he sensed in her mentality as well as the extending of his hand to act as a beacon of hope for her. "I say kill her and kill her now!" Tremayne exclaimed. "Oh no Tremayne, do you remember the Emperor's orders? Come back with this woman in tow or don't come back at all," Torbin reminded.

"Your Emperor has been hoping to see me?" Arden asked. "If that can be arranged for the great Arden Lyn," Torbin answered. "No, it cannot be arranged!" Tremayne interjected. Sighing annoyedly, Torbin placed Tremayne under a Force Crush pulse until he submitted to his superior.

"We will take Arden Lyn to the Emperor and see if we can fetch an artificial replacement for her arm while seeing if she will take his offer of an alliance. Get her a stretcher and find her a comfortable place to rest from her injury in the meantime," Torbin ordered. "Yes Master," Tremayne replied before disappearing to obey his superior's commands. "Why did you spare me and why would your master have an interest in me?" Arden asked when they were alone.

"My master has many Force adepts under his command and while powerful, no two adepts have the same set of talents or the same level in any talent. But amongst the ones still missing, I have detected that your skills in Terras Kasi would be most useful to us if you were to accept. Would you?" Torbin answered. "I don't know, depends on what he can offer me in return," Arden admitted.

"Then I guess we'll have to wait until you meet him to find out, now won't we? Rest in the meantime, it's going to be a little while before we return to Imperial Center. I'll go to comm in my success in bringing you to calmer levels than you were just moments ago," Torbin said, walking away. While it did mean leaving Arden alone to the possibility that Tremayne would try to kill her again, Torbin wasn't worried about that as the junior officer knew what would befall him if he disobeyed his order.

**Six months had come** and gone since the last time that Chiss officer Thrawn had laid eyes on the Force-sensitive rogue known as Arden Lyn. While he had guaranteed her protection for at least that long, he still felt bad that he couldn't guarantee anymore than that. After all, Arden had proven so useful to him in defeating the Yuuzhan Vong despite the Ascendancy cheating him out of his victory. But there were other aims to concern himself with now, one of them being to find a way to ascend from Vice Admiral to Grand Admiral in Palpatine's Empire.

Two months after Arden had underwent the Trance, Thrawn moved into Known Space and had been issued his test by the Emperor. Though he did not succeed in all aspects, the Emperor had been so profoundly impressed by his work as to allow him to have the rank of Vice Admiral. Rather than start from the bottom up, Thrawn only had to do a little more work to earn his desired title. True that it wasn't as bad as it could've been he still wondered what had disappointed the Emperor so much.

But thinking about it gave him a headache and he decided that until he knew what it was that had annoyed the Emperor about his approach, he would continue his old methods. After all, there was no way for him to know what to improve on without knowing what it was that pestered Palpatine, right? _No matter, all shall be revealed to me in good time if it is meant to be revealed at all_ he told himself fervently. After that, he turned his attention back onto the plans that Palpatine had recommended for his return into the Unknown Regions and he was impressed by their humility.

After all, he was being asked to chart the most mysterious part of the galaxy rather than conquer it and bring the information back for future military design. Not a bad goal even by the standards of a man who was high and lofty above all others in the dog-eat-dog empire he had created. Nonetheless, Thrawn's amusement over the plans were soon consumed by annoyance with the arrival of his superior. Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin was not a bad man, he was just bossy and it made Thrawn's skin crawl and send shivers down his spine.

"So tell me Chiss, have you found any means by which we can conduct the most rapid expansion into the Unknown Regions yet? If you can't, no one can, after all," Zaarin asked. "Sir, a rapid and poorly planned expansion such as you're requesting would be suicidal for us all. If you want good results, you're going to have to be a little patient with me as I map out what we have to take," Thrawn answered.

"Truly, that is quite a disappointing reply but I suppose you would know that better than the rest of us. But if you don't mind me asking, how would it be suicidal for us all?" Zaarin inquired. Thrawn heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head, unbelieving that this incompetent fool was his superior. _Unless this is an act he's putting up to annoy me, he is truly an idiot worthy of execution_ he thought.

"Our first problem would be the insectoid Killiks who have a grudge against Chiss like myself for what happened in wartimes long past. As if that wasn't bad enough, they are the first of only dozens of different uncategorized species that want a Chiss head for their collection. And unfortunately, they will expand their range to include allies of the Chiss if they have to become versatile," he explained. "Then I suggest you find a way to get around them for now and then let the Death Star annihilate their worlds when it's ready," Zaarin retorted.

"I plan on it, sir," Thrawn said. "Good, now get back to your work. You have a long road ahead of you after all," Zaarin ordered. Though not for the same reasons as the Grand Admiral had, Thrawn couldn't have agreed more with him.

**Meditating, Palpatine had sensed** tremors in the Force that he only knew could have come from Irkalla. It was clear to him that his Inquisitors had engaged Arden Lyn and the disappearance in the tremors meant that either they had failed or they had succeeded. At this moment, he awoke from his meditation and decided that he was going to need to do some research in case the latter had occurred. He needed to know as best he could what he could do to persuade Arden to join him without any thought to fighting against him and he needed it immediately.

Looking through his old archives which included some ancient scrolls, he found only a couple pages which told of the story of the Legions of Lettow. Their leader had been a man called Xendor and he had been loved by many in the Legions though he had his heart only for one: Arden herself. _Hmm, if she returned the feelings to him then it could prove useful in persuading her. I wonder if she has ever thought about resurrecting him and if whether or not she's tried it_ he thought gleefully.

True that it was cruel for anyone to play with the feelings of a woman whose mind had been ravaged anywhere near as bad as Arden's probably had been. However, wasn't that one of the favorites of the Sith: to be cruel to those of weaker minds than themselves? Granted, this one was not just easy to manipulate but was also relatively unstable and thus, he would have to tread carefully. However, this thought was soon tossed aside when his comlink beeped and flashed the red light of an important message.

"This is the Emperor," he said nonchalantly. "My liege, this is Grand Inquisitor Torbin with exciting news on the quest for Arden Lyn. We have her under our custody and are bringing her back to Imperial Center at this time. However, we request that you have a prosthetic replacement limb ready as I was forced to sever Arden's right arm in the process of taking her into custody," the voice of Torbin said.

"Excellent news, I could have done without the part where her arm was lopped off but other than that, excellent work as always," Palpatine replied. "Thank you my liege and also, we may need to have a moment of silence for Inquisitor Darys: she ended up on the wrong end of Arden's blades. It was tragic but I guess we all saw it coming sooner or later with her attitude," Torbin added.

_Indeed she was one of the most cowardly of Vader's Inquisitors even if she was brave to follow in the footsteps of her Jedi Master Jerec and join me_ Palpatine agreed mentally. "Very well, I think I know just the prostheses to apply to her wound. She will find it most useful regardless of whether or not she agrees to join us," he said aloud. "Though I have not spoken on your behalf, I have told her that you wished to make her an offer in exchange for service, I trust you have one?" Torbin asked.

"Yes, as always, I have an offer that she might just be unable to refuse and will persuade her to hastily agree to a contract with us," Palpatine said with a smile. "Excellent milord, I shall contact you again when we are approaching Imperial Center," Torbin stated with a bow. Transmission was disconnected at that point and Palpatine relaxed into his Throne Room chair gloatingly.

Laughing in his usual demeanor, he came to accept that everything was proceeding as he had foreseen for Arden Lyn. Then a new idea flashed across his mind: the Inquisitors were becoming obsolete though they did not need to be disbanded. He needed a new branch of Force adept that he could trust to serve him on any account, whether related to the Jedi or not. This would have to be a branch of adepts willing to extend his reach across the stars and inspire further fear.

_The Emperor's Hand... that shall be the name of the new branch and it shall destroy all my enemies at my command or dying trying_ he thought with a smile. This new idea, combined with the other dozens that it stirred, turned the gears and engines running in his head rather sadistically.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Having been anesthetized for the trip to Imperial Center, Arden Lyn had not felt the arrival to the planet nor her body being lifted into a stretcher and carried to the infirmary. However, she could faintly hear the voices of Torbin and Tremayne barking orders, the latter more reluctantly to do so. _Who could blame him? He wants vengeance against me for the injuries that I did him and was unable to do it because of his superior's orders_ Arden thought to herself drowsily.

"Get her the replacement!" she faintly heard Torbin command. "Yes sir!" said an equally faint voice. Tremayne said something to Torbin and due to the fact that he had likely whispered it, she couldn't hear him. However, Torbin's tone in his reply indicated that it was something that would benefit her more than it would harm her. Within minutes, she felt a prick on her arm as well as the effects of what seemed to be a stimulant of sorts that she didn't recognize and almost purged from her body.

However, it worked its way into her and she was soon on her way to being fully awake despite the headache that her revival brought with it. "Slow down Arden, you're safe here," Torbin said gently. "No worries, I'm used to going out cold and reviving with a headache. It's the way it was when I first awoke only that had been worse than even the worst migraine you could have," Arden replied.

"I could imagine and in case you're wondering, the stimulant I injected you with was a concoction of several different preexisting stimulants you may know well. Normally, it's used to heighten the heartbeat of our prisoners so that when they give into their fear, their hearts overload. However, it does have a medicinal purpose as you have beared witness to, yourself," Torbin explained. "Why go to all the trouble to use this drug to torture somebody?" she asked.

"In this time and under this Empire, desperate times call for desperate measures and many of our prisoners force us no choice but to find new ways to make them talk. This is not one of my favorites due to its simplicity to decipher but it is very effective when it is used. In addition, it is one of the few methods that has a zero-percent failure rate as of right now," he answered. "Not bad but what did you revive me for, aren't you going to need to knock me back out when you apply the prosthesis?" she said.

"No, you're much more useful awake for a perfect test of its connectivity to your leftover nerve tissues than you are while passed out. True that we could do it but your reactivity at post-insertion would be all the more helpful," he explained. "So in layman's terms, you need me awake and well to tell you whether I feel anything in the arm or if it feels like a damned piece of coal," she suggested. Chuckling, he admitted that she could put it that way and she smiled, having surprised herself as far as how her personality came across to people of the alien age of the galaxy just in time to see her new arm.

"Ah, here it is now: a pre-Old Sith War Juggernaut war droid arm to serve as your prosthetic replacement. Quite a formidable improvement from your flesh and bone if you ask me," he stated. "If you're so sure, cut my other arm off and get me another one, would you?" she joked sarcastically. "That can be very easily arranged, my dear," he retorted with a wink.

The distraction was all Arden needed to almost completely overlook the attachment of the arm to her stump. Looking back, she was amazed at how natural it felt despite being made of metal and wires. And when the droids tested the feeling in her hands, she was quick to shout her protest at their poking. "So soon and the arm is already working for you, I must say that I am impressed," he said calmly. "I've always been able to adapt to circumstance in a matter of several seconds, a few minutes at most," she admitted. Smiling, he was glad to see that that was the case especially considering what she had been through already.

The thought provoked memories of what had happened to her apprentice, Depa Billaba, while she was in the Void of the Universe. It was a sad time that she had hoped would be overlooked after her meditation trance where she exercised her grief as fully as she could. But she took it as a sign that her friendship with the old woman had been greatly valued in her heart and always would be. "Now that my new arm has been outfitted, perhaps we can turn our attention to seeing your Master?" she asked.

"He has already arranged to see you alone at your earliest convenience. You have only to ask me for directions to his Palace and the Throne Room and the rest is history," he answered. "What about you?" she inquired. "I have other duties that I must attend to but before I go, I will confess that you are one of the few opponents I have faced that has earned my genuine respect as a fighter," he explained.

"Glad a big name such as yours is on my side in a galaxy I don't even know," she said after pausing to think about how to respond to his statement. _Or am I? He doesn't seem like the type I would want to attach my name to even if I had no other choice_ she asked herself quietly. "The datapad with the instructions is here if you do wish to see him now," Torbin said before she could ask.

"Thank you Torbin, I shall commend your generosity and your wisdom to the Emperor," she said before slowly rising from her bed. It took her a little bit of adjusting to do but after a while, her feet felt natural to her again which was a feeling she suspected was lacking during her duel on Irkalla. Immediately, she began following the datapad as faithfully as she could with occasional mishaps in which she was forced to turn back and retrace her steps. However, she arrived in less than an hour despite the inconvenience of some of the residents living on this planet

_Legend has it that this planet is all one huge city. Is that really necessary?_ Arden asked herself without saying. It was here, for the first time in millennia, that she could hear Xendor's voice saying that it depended on her perception of necessity. Giggling, it was good for her to have a flashback of the man she loved even if she did suspect she would be paying for it later.

**"Lord Vader, do you** sense her?" Palpatine asked his apprentice. Vader paused for a moment before responding to that question, letting his connection to the Force strengthen. Then he nodded, stating that it was a strong presence unlike any he had sensed before. "That, my friend, is the power we could wield if we persuade Arden Lyn to join our evergrowing Empire," Palpatine stated.

By the pace of his breathe, this thought seemed to excite his apprentice and he almost had to wonder why Vader was so eager. But then yet again, it had been a long time since either of them had had a decent chance at a new recruit and the thought of having one like this was indeed exciting. However, Palpatine had to inform his apprentice that he was to observe when possible and only offer comments when needed. "She is an ancient being and we don't know what her customs are when it comes to speaking with someone: for all we know, she may want you to leave," he added.

"I understand, Master," Vader replied, somewhat disappointed. "Do not feel too bad, my apprentice. People like her will always need time to adjust to the new oddities that our galaxy can throw at them for certain," Palpatine said reassuringly. As the two Sith Lords wait, they found it surprisingly longer than anticipated for Arden to find her way to the Throne Room. However, when she finally did, her presence was like a massive beacon gone completely out of control.

"Your power is tremendous, young woman. Any greater and you might have given me a heartattack with your mere presence in the Force," the Emperor joked. "So old men attuned to the Force are as weak as ever?" she asked. "That depends on your perception of strength and weakness: physically, I admit I am relatively frail but connect me to the Dark Side and I am very dangerous," he answered with a smile.

"I can imagine, I was the one who married the man that pioneered the beginnings of the modern Sith," she admitted. "So Xendor was more than in love with you as the texts got?" he inquired. "Yes, _far_ more: as I said, I was his wife when he was alive and beared witness to his death on Columus. I've fiercely hated the Jedi ever since as your Grand Inquisitor can attest," she replied with a nod.

"Indeed Torbin made mention that you had called him and his subordinates Jedi in his final report to me. A mistake that was very easily remedied despite the extremity required, I trust?" the Emperor asked curiously. Arden nodded and told him that Torbin had said that the Emperor would make her an offer that would have her at least considering an alliance with him. "Yes, he does not deceive you on that matter for I do have an offer you may like," the Emperor confessed.

"Then let's hear it, if it doesn't even have me considering an alliance then I shall wish for transportation to the nearest spaceport planet," Arden demanded. Palpatine chuckled, admiring her fiery passion and knowing that it would take a little more to break her into servitude than he had thought. If he wasn't careful, he could lose his chance to form the Emperor's Hand organization through her. However, he was at no loss for words as he informed her of the offer that he was willing to make for her.

"Become my 'Emperor's Hand' and I shall conjure Xendor from the netherworld of Chaos. Imagine what it would be like for you to have the man you love holding you in his embrace once more," he said. "No one can resurrect the dead, thank you for your time but you've wasted mine," she said immediately and turned to walk away. "I can and I have done it before, Arden Lyn; I can be most generous to my allies if I wish," he countered.

Arden stopped in her tracks, clenching her fists as she thought over the implications of his offer and what he said he could do. _Good, I have broken through her defense and called out to the hopeless romantic in her_ he thought with a smirk. He heard her heave a heavy sigh and it was obvious that her attachment to Xendor was greater than she had already revealed. Vader looked like he wanted to say something to her as he extended his hand out towards in that matter but stopped himself short.

"Give me some time to think about it, your majesty. Where is your training room for fighters like myself?" she said at last. Palpatine knew she would need to blow off steam as she thought about this offer and stated that his guards would escort her there. Then she excused herself to which he replied by bidding her a good day of thought before returning his attention to tightening his grip on his holdings.

He knew he had called upon the lover within her and it would only be a matter of time before she accepted his generous proposal. True that he did not intend to go through with the offer nor could he if he had wanted to but still, it was a fun trick to play on an innocent mind like hers. _Innocent but still very dangerous as is the mark of one who was once insane with anger and hate_ he thought. He would tread carefully, that much was for sure but he couldn't help but get excited about having fun with her feelings for a long-dead warrior of the Dark Side to the point of a visible smile.

**Returning from the Outer Rim,** leaving Thrawn to his data-related expansions into the Unknown Regions, Demetrius Zaarin missed the sessions he would have in the Emperor's sparring chambers. In fact, arranging a time for one was one of the first things he did when he returned to Imperial Center. Smiling, he was glad that the speed and efficiency with which a session was reserved was still present after a long time away near the Unknown Regions. However, after changing into attire more suiting of exercise and grabbing a towel for his sweat, he was surprised to see a woman already there.

Judging by the strength and power with which she hit the punching bag before her, she was angry about something or at least, conflicted. A further look indicated the precision of martial arts in each of her punches onto the bag and he admired her form. There were few curves on her body which indicated she was more of the active type than most of the women that he had met, the only curve being her waist. But even that was relatively minimal though he admitted he found her shoulder-length, flowing black hair to be the most charming thing about her.

And just when he had finished assessing her from behind, she turned so he could assess her from the front. If he had thought that her long flowing hair was the most charming thing about her, then her golden eyes were like jewels created by the gods. "Indeed, you are an angelic source of inspiration for any young man looking for a night of nudity with a beautiful woman," he said. "And you are?" the woman asked him.

"My name is Demetrius Zaarin though you may call me 'Admiral' or 'Zaarin', I'm a Grand Admiral of the Imperial Fleet. What might your name be, your ladyship?" he replied. "Arden Lyn, but you can call me Arden," she said as she extended her hand to him. He took it with one of his own and stated that it was a pleasure for him to meet her, asking if she was new to conclude it.

"Just arrived today," she admitted. "Always a burst of excitement upon first arriving to this place, is it not?" he asked. "I guess that depends on your perception of first time arrivals," she answered. Though he didn't understand, he shrugged to move on to the next matter for she looked like a woman that didn't want to explain herself to someone she hardly knew.

Besides that, she needed to clean up the punching bag that she had knocked down in a series of methodical, powerful punches before his arrival. "You aren't by any chance a Master of any martial arts, are you?" he asked after silence for several moments. "Terras Kasi, it was one of the first things I learned as a child," she answered with a nod beforehand. "You bear the decisive mark of a champion of Terras Kasi... has the Emperor requested that you train future disciples of his in it?" he inquired.

"Not yet but I have the feeling it will be one of the terms he lays down for me should I accept his offer," Arden said as she repaired the bag and hooked it back up on its ceiling mount. "One thing's for sure, you're already used to that big mechanical arm of yours unless you've had it awhile," he stated. "I've only had it today, I've always been able to adapt quickly under any circumstances thrown at me," she replied. "Very quick considering such a short amount of time but do tell me, were you another rogue Force-sensitive before this or a fallen Jedi?" he asked.

He was eager to know this mysterious woman calling herself Arden Lyn much better. After all, he began to get the feeling as though his destiny would somehow be intertwined with hers. "Fallen Jedi with a longer history than any fallen Jedi here," she answered. _Really, is this just a boast or is this true?_ he asked himself silently.

As it was, the name Arden Lyn sounded familiar to him like something he had read during his studies of Republic history. He would have to go back into the texts he read to find out how it struck out to him as familiar and why. Watching as she returned to punching the punching bag repeatedly, he felt an aura of confidence born out of despair and sadness about her, sadness thick as the stench of her sweat. What had happened to her to antagonize her so much and was it the fault of the Jedi as she had indicated in her answer to his question of whether or not she was a fallen Jedi?

"You know, you're not at your full beauty when you're angry or sweaty," he said rather suddenly. This stopped her in her tracks and slowly, she turned around to face him, her gaze sending shivers down his spine and almost making him wish it had turned him to stone. "I could replace the punching bag with you if you don't watch how you speak to me. And I could make your pain last as long as I wish should I choose to subjugate you to that kind of torment," she warned.

"But you wouldn't subject me to it when I am currently of superior rank to you, now would you?" he asked calmly. Inside, he was about ready to wet himself and scream like a five-year-old girl at the intimidating tone that her voice took. "No but I have the feeling I will be the superior one if I take Palpatine's offer," she replied. Then she turned her attention back to the punching bag and exercising her anger out on it though not before telling the Grand Admiral that she wished to be alone now.

"I shall comply with that wish but not before I say one thing. Be careful what you do should you choose to accept the Emperor's offer for in the end, you are expendable to him. True that you might be unique and you might have his interest for his time but you are not the only rogue Force-sensitive here. There _are_ others who will interest him almost as greatly if not surpassing you in his favor," he warned.

"If you're so sure of that, why do you still serve him?" she asked as she kept punching the bag. "Perhaps because I need a boost of inspiration, somebody who can show me that I don't need to fear being outside his shadow," he admitted. _Why am I admitting this to her?_ he asked himself quietly. "So the galaxy now operates mostly on fear and mistrust... pathetic," she hissed disgustedly.

The increased intensity of her precise, powerful punches indicated that she didn't want to talk anymore and he wisely complied. He decided it was best not to have a session for himself the rest of that day and instead, to postpone it until the following day. The last thing he needed to do was aggravate this woman further and becoming her new punching bag. Even when he was several meters away with the door to the chambers closed, he could still hear the smack of her fists against the inanimate object.

**On his way back to his** chambers, Vader passed by a hurried Admiral Zaarin and he sensed that the coward had met Arden Lyn already. _She does leave an impression on weak minds like his. He might be a brilliant and innovative engineer but he is still a timid nitwit when it comes to socializing with anyone_ Vader thought with a smile inside his helmet. He decided to see what she was doing and it wasn't hard to find her even if he hadn't been following her presence in the Force.

After a little while, he began to hear the smacks of her fists collided with a punching bag in the sparring chambers. Following the sound to the source, he chuckled to see that she was so intent on destroying the bag that she didn't notice him coming in. When she finally did, by splitting it in half down the middle with her mechanical arm, she turned slowly to face him. "Is it me or do men really seem to idolize this widow today?" she asked.

"Just you, I came to see what your decision was on the Emperor's offer is," he answered. "And why would the Emperor's apprentice be concerned with a lowly servant like me?" she inquired. "You would not be lowly, actually you would answer only to me and the Emperor in authority. Nonetheless, I am concerned with you because you are indeed a most fascinating work of art," he explained.

"I think my portrait of Xendor in one of his final victories during the Schism is more the artwork than I am," she stated. "You underestimate and berate yourself far more than you need to. So what is your answer to the offer that my Master has proposed for you?" he asked. Arden Lyn went silent at that point and had to think real carefully about the implications of the offer if she took it.

She could have Xendor back if he really could resurrect the dead from Chaos itself. Or she could be destroyed like most of the wouldbe servants of Lord Sidious. Like he almost did fourteen and a half years ago on Mustafar, thanks to his former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. He hated the man to death and would find him before the end of his life, enjoying his vengeance as he struck the man down.

But his vengeance was not the subject of his discussion with Arden Lyn much as he might have desired it to be. "Lord Vader... does he really have the power of resurrection?" she asked at last. Vader paused, thinking about how to answer that as he knew that whatever he said could deter her or ensnare her. However, he immediately conjured the right words and the right tone to state them in.

"He wasn't true in having done it before but that doesn't mean that he can't do it. If he puts his power and commit to something, it can be done," he said. It was an elaborate lie that he hoped she wouldn't see through but her reply relieved him of that fear. "Then you have yourself another warrior," she said with a smile.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

"Congratulations Arden Lyn, you have become the Emperor's Hand. You shall have command over all matters pertaining to the martial arts style known as Terras Kasi, formed by the Palawa priests. Yours is authority over all the Empire so long as it benefits your charges, only Lord Vader and the Emperor will be greater," Palpatine declared in the ceremony honoring Arden Lyn's initiation. "From this day forth, Arden Lyn is no longer a strapling rogue Force-sensitive," Vader began.

_I am no strapling, I'm probably powerful enough to beat you and your Emperor together_ Arden thought but didn't say. "She is now a weapon of the Galactic Empire and what she does from here on, she does to ensure security and continuing stability in our society. May the Force bless her with the strength to conquer all who would challenge the might of the Empire for all her days," Vader added. And with that, he concluded the ceremony by shouting "Hail Arden Lyn!" and instructing everyone else to do the same at the rise of his lightsaber into the air.

Three times, Arden heard the cry ring in the crowd and for some strange reason, it warmed her heart to see all this passion put into the ceremony. Not since her wedding to Xendor had she seen such warmth from so many people not of relations to her at all. Then the Emperor rose his hand to the crowd for silence, his announcement of her first mission on behalf of the Empire imminent now. "As my first order to the Emperor's Hand..." he began.

The audience was dead silent all around Arden, the only sound coming from Lord Vader's inhalation and exhalation through his mask. "She must journey to Dromund Kaas and obtain a holocron belonging to the ancient Sith Lord, Darth Vitiate at the ruins of his palace. Arden Lyn, my Emperor's Hand, must never return until she has succeeded in this mission with her only other option being death. Whether by my Lightning or by the traps that lie in wait for those that would steal the holocron, victory is her only way back to me," he continued, ending on that note.

"Thank you my liege, I will not fail you," Arden stated as she rose from her kneel and bowed to him formally. "Go, my Emperor's Hand, to victory or death. Lord Vader shall give you all the details you will need for your mission," he replied, ending the ceremony at that. Nodding, she turned and walked down the stairs of the throne with Lord Vader soon tagging on her heels to hand her something.

"Speak to me, go over the instructions with me verbally," Arden requested. "This datapad goes over the instructions much more thoroughly than I can. It also gives you a picture of what a holocron looks like so you know what to look for, particularly what a Sith holocron looks like I might add. May the Force be with you on this mission, Arden Lyn the Emperor's Hand," he replied immediately.

Arden took the datapad from him and went over the details, meticulously and methodically reading every last letter. By the end of her read, she had more than memorized the details that she needed to know: she was looking for a red, glowing pyramid structure ebbing with the Dark Side. Additionally, there were several hundred miles of tunnels and corridors which all contained booby traps and perils that none had survived to date. She would need to be careful where she placed her feet during the first third of the chamber, then be very quick in the next third.

The last was supposed to be something that she was fairly familiar with: illusions of the mind as well as lightsaber dueling with ancient ghosts. _That last part shouldn't be too big of a hassle, maybe its lack of difficulty is incentive for overcoming the difficulties at the beginning_ she thought. It was a thought that brought a smile to her face and admittedly, she found this mission an exciting first one. But then, she could swear she had the funniest feeling like another voice was intruding into her head to talk.

When she let it, she recognized this voice to belong to her old apprentice Depa Billaba who had died helping Arden escaping the Yuuzhan Vong. _Do not underestimate the horrors that lie in wait for those who journey to the homeland of the Prophets of the Dark Side. There, nothing lives except for what does so by the graces of the bearers of the power_ Depa warned. _Prophets... shouldn't be too bad, most prophets are cowards that speak in riddles anyhow_ Arden replied.

_These prophets can foresee the future through an utter reliance on the Force to pierce through the veil cast over most when it comes to the future. Be wary of venturing anywhere near where they live on Dromund Kaas_ Depa reiterated. _I'll be wary, my apprentice just please remain out of my head whenever I'm fighting please_ Arden said calmly. _No worries about that Mistress, just remember to keep on your toes no matter what_ Depa said, concluding her warning at that.

The shuttle that would take Arden to Dromund Kaas was waiting and ready when she arrived, something she liked seeing. "Strap in for the ride, milady. Coordinates are locked, prepare for lightspeed," said the male pilot. She could only see his arms and hear his voice but that was all she needed to know that she would be soon traveling to yet another world in the list she was gathering.

**"Is it really wise** to send her to Dromund Kaas, so soon? The last time we did anything like that, we were lucky to have Supreme Prophet Kadann drop by to save his life. Even then, he never survived the attempts to medically restore him more than about fourteen standard hours," Vader asked. "Unlike that pathetic initiate whose name I haven't bothered to recall, Arden has experience," Palpatine replied.

"Experience fighting Jedi, not experience fighting fellow Dark Side bearers. Her fight with the Inquisitors is living proof of that," Vader added. "She was caught off-guard, anyone with her kind of power would never allow it if they were on their full game," Palpatine snapped. "My point is that it might not be wise to put too much faith in her abilities, even if she is a living powerhouse in the Force," Vader warned.

"When she returns with the holocron, I trust you will not raise this issue up to me in the future?" Palpatine asked, cutting to the point immediately. Vader nodded, knowing that he could argue no more on the point of Arden's power when Palpatine's confidence was heavily placed upon it. _He says all this like he has already foreseen the outcome and isn't telling m_e Vader thought but didn't say. "Will that be all, Lord Vader?" Palpatine asked after a moment's pause.

"Yes Master, there is nothing else for the time being," the Sith Lord answered. "Then you're dismissed for now," the Emperor replied. Vader bowed and left the Throne Room, allowing the older man to sink into his thoughts. It was the least he could do considering his Master's absolute confidence in Arden's capabilities as a warrior.

Despite the reports about the Irkalla mission disputing her capabilities, Palpatine believed that her potential meant that she was more than qualified to go to Dromund Kaas. _He's never been this ecstatic about a Force bearer since he met me, twenty-six and a half years ago_ he observed. Could she be the herald of doom for Lord Vader, could this woman mark the end of all he schemed to do before he could even do it? If so, it most certainly explained why the Emperor was so hopeful that she succeeded in her mission.

After all, Sidious had made it clear at the beginning of the Empire that he had been disappointed in what Vader had become. "All your power and you let Kenobi get away with what he has done to you," he had exclaimed. The exclamation itself had been more out of frustration than anything else but the hatred that the old man felt even then was still visible in his tone and on his face. Now, he had an opportunity for a fresher replacement if he wished to take it, one younger and more powerful.

Just as he had been when he had destroyed Lord Tyranus near the end of the Clone Wars... The time to strike against the Emperor and take his throne was coming up faster than he thought it was if this was the case. _That sneaky little snake would have his way if I had not caught on soon enough but not to worry, my secret weapon is almost ready_ Vader thought with a smile. Opening a door with the Force, Vader gazed upon that secret weapon: an apprentice that he had been training for years now.

"Are you ready for your next mission, Starkiller?" Vader asked. "What is thy bidding, my Master?" Starkiller replied after nodding. "Go to Dromund Kaas, request the permission from the Prophets of the Dark Side to spy on a woman called Arden Lyn. Follow her as best you can and if she succeeds in what she heads to accomplish there, report back to me immediately," Vader ordered.

"Does she seek something of value? If so, let me take it from her!" Starkiller suggested. "No, unless she fails she would be too powerful for you. Just follow her and report back to me if she succeeds or if she fails in her missions," Vader insisted.

"As you wish, my Master," Starkiller replied with a bow. Then Vader left him to pack up for his trip to Dromund Kaas, the _Rogue Shadow_ standing ready as ever to escort him. But before letting him leave, Vader reminded Starkiller a final time that he was not to engage Arden or steal her valuable. "Under _any_ circumstances, even self-defense," he added imperialistically; the boy replied with a nod.

**"Arden Lyn, no doubt.** It is a high honor to have someone like you join us for your stay on Dromund Kaas," Supreme Prophet Kadann announced as Arden arrived. Stopping for a moment or so, Arden read the little man before her, trying to see what was going on in the wheels of his mind. But when she found nothing of interest to her, she decided it was best to return his greeting for now. "Dispense with the formalities, we both know I am only here for a brief time until I succeed in my mission," she said.

"And I assure you that we have adjusted to accommodate you for the duration of your stay. As I have said before, it is a true honor to have a servant of Emperor Palpatine here," he replied. "You rarely get visitors, do you?" she asked. "How did you guess?" he inquired, semi-confessing.

"It doesn't take reading through the Force to know that you value visitors so much that you wish to accommodate them when they arrive. Especially if they happen to serve someone who is more powerful in the Dark Side than yourself, am I right?" she explained. Kadann paused in his thoughts and it seemed as though she had angered him with what she had said but his response said otherwise. "We pay our respects to Lord Sidious, yes, and in return he leaves us be for as long as we wish," he stated.

"And I trust that it has worked fairly for the both of you?" she asked. Kadann nodded and told her that High Prophet Jedgar would show her to her quarters. "Thank you Supreme Prophet, your hospitality has been most appreciated thus far," she replied. "Anything for the servant of the Emperor," he said with a smile before leaving her to unpack and settle down.

But as she did so, she sensed an unfamiliar presence not of the spirit world or even amongst the prophets. This one had a tinge of youth to it that she had not seen since she had met Xendor for the first time. _Who in the universe could this be with Xendor long dead and this presence being from a younger being?_ she asked herself silently. The sad thing was, she knew she would have to wait until morning to find out who it was if she was destined to find out at all.

**Starkiller had left for** Dromund Kaas not too long after receiving a report that Arden had already left. As such, he arrived about a standard hour or so after she did and was amazed that he was not immediately ratted out by one of the prophets. In fact, it was so quiet that he immediately began to keep a vigilance in case he was walking into a trap of any sort. _Maybe they'll use the Force to conjure up some sort of ancient Sith weapon that will skin me alive or something_ he thought.

He had heard the legends about the prophets and was very much interested to know what kind of life that they lived. "Where are you going, so late at night?" a female voice called out to him. Turning in the direction of the voice, he almost managed to get his lightsaber but it was taken out of his hand. "There's no need for such crude weapons to be drawn here, it's all safe in this temple," the woman told him as she grabbed the levitated saber.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Starkiller asked. "My name's Merili, I'm one of the Prophets," the woman answered. _Merili, I've heard some crazy things surrounding that name_ he thought but didn't say. "So what's your name, sexy man?" she asked when he said nothing aloud.

The way her hand went up and down his chest indicated that she was not going to threaten him with his own lightsaber, not yet anyways. "Starkiller, apprentice to Lord Vader, ma'am," he said. There was no sense denying his allegiance especially if what was said about her reading minds was true. "I thought there could be only two Sith: a Master and an apprentice," she replied.

"I'm more the servant than an apprentice, anyway. An acolyte of the Dark Side, if you will," he admitted. "In that case, maybe I could... accommodate you while you stay here," she suggested. Her hand rubbed along his chin in a very flirtatious manner and since she looked in her teens, he didn't panic.

At best, she was about two years older or younger than him anyway and would seem really natural if it weren't so instant. "Why do you take to liking me when you barely even know more than my name?" he asked, these doubts too strong to go unnoticed. "The Prophets are no fun, they're all about committing themselves to the Dark Side and visions," she said in a manner that mocked them. _It's a wonder that she hasn't been kicked out for saying this but still I wonder..._ he thought silently.

"Sounds like you get pretty lonely," he said to be polite. "Oh yes and the guy I like never pays attention. Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for you," she said melodramatically. Then she yanked him by his arms and pulled him to her chambers... it was one hell of a night for Starkiller.

**Despite the noises of** a teenage woman screaming and a teenage boy groaning in what sounded like ecstasy, Arden was able to get a proper couple of hours of meditation. In the morning, she consulted Kadann with a demand to know what was up about the girl at night. "That's our overly insane Prophetess named Merili. The rest of us stay away from her but some strapless young lad must have bumped into her and had her ride up and down his shaft much to his chagrin later," Kadann answered.

"And you let her get away with this?" Arden asked. "Like I told you, she's very overly insane. The more freedom you give someone with a mind like hers, the more they think they're your master. However, it also allows them the ignorance to not realize that it is you who are their master, not vice versa," Kadann answered proudly.

"Doesn't a person like her eventually bite the hand that feeds them?" she inquired. "We have already taken precautions so that it does not happen or happens on such a level that it's irrelevant. After all, with any person or organization, we look into their future but we do it meticulously. As there are many possible futures, we merely choose the one most likely to occur and announce that vision.

"The Emperor knows that's how we operate and he knows that the future will reach a point where the outcome we choose is one that does not work in his favor. He has the ability to see the future to the extent that we can but he chooses the course most agreeable to his design," he explained. "Very biased judgment that could end up stabbing him in the back someday," she observed aloud. "Indeed and despite having nothing to confirm it yet, we believe that time is fast approaching," he admitted.

"You do, you mean?" she asked. She guessed it in his posture that his recent announcement was a development as old as the conversation. "The others will have seen what I have seen before the end of this conversation and will follow suit in my beliefs, even Merili. There would be no point in announcing it except to come to an agreement about what can be done to prepare," he answered.

"And the reason that you are relating this all to me is?" she requested, a question that caught him off guard but only slightly so._ Even with my ability to calculate the most likely path of the future, her ability to calculate elements of the present is remarkable_ he thought. "Because the future tells me that the most likely path of our fates dictates that we will only meet once again. Even so, I am cautious not to trust one path entirely or else face disappointment," he said aloud.

"One meets their future on the path they take to avoid it. Perhaps, I should try that and see if it proves you right in your guess," she suggested. "There is no need for that, you will meet whatever future lies in wait for you no matter what you do," he replied with a chuckle. He admired her opinions on the future and wondered where her wisdom came from, what inspired it in her.

_If only he knew where I've formed my opinions from_ Arden thought silently. "So where is the Temple?" she asked aloud. "Not more than three kilometers away from here, a distance easily covered by landspeeder. I have already arranged one to take you there whenever you're ready to set out," he answered. "In that case, I better not keep the driver waiting on me," she stated.

"Eager to get the mission underway, I like that in a lassie such as yourself," he replied, stroking his beard in ponderance. "Don't press your luck, Prophet. The men who like me (let alone love me) tend to die on me before I really have a chance to know them for too long," she warned. _She looks like a woman with such an unfortunate streak of luck in her life_ he admitted silently.

"May the Force be with you in your mission, Arden Lyn. You have great potential to become a powerful warrior as well as a wise one," he said aloud. By this time, they were approaching the speeder and Arden was impatient to get going. However, she stopped and turned back to him with a look that said she still had a question or two.

"What's the most likely outcome for my mission to the temple?" she asked teasingly. Chuckling, he had to admit that for her hard exterior and her wisdom, she could act like a normal woman. She was the right balance of warrior, Force user, utterer of naught but wise words, and normal human woman. In the wrong hands, such a combination would be unstoppably dangerous but in the right ones?

If ever, the combination of personality traits that Arden presented were to fall into the right hands then it would mean peace to the galaxy and maybe even to her. As he watched her leave, the screams of Merili came alive again and were more ecstatic than before, apparently she was having fun. "Jedgar, go fetch the boy that entertains Merili so rigorously and make sure you get him talking before you decide to lop off his manhood, not the other way around," he ordered at last, annoyed by the noise. "Yes Master," High Prophet Jedgar replied as he grabbed his lightsaber and head for her room.

**"Oh Starkiller, you are** so fine," Merili exclaimed, her naked form rubbing up against Starkiller's. "I have barely even done anything, milady," he replied. It was then, as if saying that sparked a revelation, he remembered his mission and went to a flurry of activity. "I've been here too long," he said aloud.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "I was sent here on a mission to observe Arden Lyn's mission on Lord Vader's behalf. By now, her speeder's already taken off and made its way to the damned temple!" he answered. "You're right about that but that doesn't explain what you're doing naked here," another man intruded.

_Oh hell, I think I'm in trouble now_ Starkiller thought as he finished searching for his lightsaber. "Why High Prophet Jedgar, what a pleasant surprise!" Merili shouted playfully. "Enough, who are you, young man!?" Jedgar demanded. Starkiller knew there was only one thing he could do right now.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

For a while after sending Arden Lyn on her mission, the Emperor had a slight suspicion that Lord Vader would send somebody to spy on her. His lack of faith in her abilities all but encouraged that line of thought in his Master whether he knew it or not. But when Kadann reported that a young boy who had confessed himself to be Lord Vader's apprentice, that thought was confirmed. "Lord Vader, why do you send a boy to spy on Arden Lyn during her mission?" Palpatine demanded immediately.

"Who dares accuse me of such a crime?" Vader replied. At that point, the Emperor showed his apprentice the hologram where Jedgar brought forth Starkiller and the boy confessed his allegiance. "We'll allow him to go this once on condition that he never again follow your servant or sleep with our Prophetess Merili. He has already agreed to stay away on those terms and we await your approval of those terms, Lord Vader," Jedgar said in the recording.

"I told him he could have his message recorded and I would deliver it to you. Now it is up to you how you reply to him, choose wisely. They could destroy your apprentice and possibly you without a second thought if you are unwise in your response," Palpatine warned before leaving Vader to think. That should teach him not to question my judgement in my future decrees Palpatine thought with a sadistic smile.

His faith in Arden Lyn had led to the revelation of an unfaithful Vader sending a spy, possibly to distract her only to fall into his own hormonal temptations._ If Vader's going to send someone to spy on Arden, it should be somebody who could actually resist Merili's temptations. Like perhaps, Inquisitor Tremayne_ Palpatine thought, recalling Tremayne's hatred of Arden. Naturally, who could blame him after all, she had killed his friend and forced him to replace one of his lungs and both his legs.

However, due to the constant need of the Inquisitors to look for lost Jedi to either kill or lure to the Dark Side, neither he nor Torbin were available for that. Instead, Palpatine would have to trust that Lord Vader would not send out another one of his servants to spy on Arden Lyn. However, quite frankly, he had the feeling that Vader would not be able to do it in time even if he wanted to. Victory was Palpatine's as far as spies observing Arden's activity was concerned and he was proud of that.

**Starkiller was glad that** Jedgar and Kadann had chosen to spare him severe punishment and return him to Vader. However, he was not looking forward to what his Master had to say or do about his failure to keep an eye on Arden Lyn. After all, he had been seduced to the chambers of a member of the Prophets and was going to pay the consequences for sleeping with her. Arriving to Lord Vader's chambers with the erect posture of a responsible young man, Vader's disappointment was obvious.

"What happened to keeping an eye on Arden Lyn?" the Dark Lord asked. "I arrived and immediately went looking for her. But Merili came and before long, I was pulled to her chambers and forced to make love to her," Starkiller answered immediately. Vader said nothing, his breathing was all that could be heard as he thought about how he could respond to that reply.

Then Vader extended his hand out in a manner that Starkiller was all too familiar with: Force Choke. "You have failed me in a manner that cannot be forgiven but perhaps there is a chance at redemption," he said after a while of strangling Starkiller. "What way is that, Master?" Starkiller asked when he could recover his breath at last. "You'll find out soon enough but for now, you are dismissed," Vader answered, disappointed completely in his apprentice's affront to him.

Starkiller rubbed his neck and bowed to show his submissiveness to Lord Vader before turning around and heading back to his chambers. But along the way, he kept his head down in shame knowing full well that he had let his Master down in a way that might not be fixed. For how could he possibly mend the fact that he was no longer a virgin adolescent boy and satisfy his Master's design once again? If there was a way to make it up to Lord Vader, he would take it but for now, he chose to remain in meditation for the rest of the day... it served him better than anything the day had presented him so far.

**At first, nothing but darkness** surrounded Arden Lyn after she entered the Temple dedicated to a Sith Lord named Darth Vitiate. She wondered if the Dark Side was called it because those who came after her and used it also favored darkness like this. Reaching out with the Force she sensed a shaft that she could use like a torch and used the side of one of her lightsabers to spark the fire. After that, she tossed the weapon aside to begin making her way down and down into the bowels of the pyramid.

At first, she was wondering if the sources were wrong about there being traps that killed the previous spies. In fact, she began to wonder if they had fled in cowardice after delivering a false report of their deaths though an act such as that would be difficult to pull off. Plus there was the fact that according to Palpatine, such reports can be traced for signs of forgery and called on it. But what confirmed that they weren't kidding were the skeletons she was seeing at the beginning of an entrance.

Because its trap wasn't that it was a labyrinth, she guessed that there were devices set to kill along certain sections of the path. _Of course it is, you nitwit! You were told that before you left for this mission_ she thought to herself. She had arrived at the beginning of a passage that was most definitely filled with skeletons from what she could sense.

However, she had no way of knowing what caused their deaths aside from the blades stuck in the chest of many of them. That had her wondering how the blades worked and how it was possible for them to have done this to these soldiers of the Empire and of other Sith in times past. But such things encouraged ingenuity as she decided to throw her torch across the passage and see what caused it. As she watched the little beacon of light fly right by, she watched as several harpoons ejected their heads.

They missed the torch with only one even scratching the wood and Arden knew that she might not be so lucky if she wasn't careful about it. Using the Force, she tracked the movement of the gears and wirings in the traps thus pinpointing where she needed to apply her Force power if she could. But the inner workings of these traps were too strong for her to break with her telekinesis abilities. So she determined that the best thing to do was use bursts of Force Speed when she knew they would spring.

Readying herself by taking several breaths in the direction of exercise, Arden began with a slow jug and then built up speed as she applied Force power to her movement. The traps themselves just barely missed her even when she applied Force Speed, nicking her clothes a little in the process. Beyond that, she had no problem getting through that and she managed to rescue the torch before it went out. Once she passed that, she remained unopposed for quite a ways until she came upon more skeletons though not as many as she had seen before.

Granted, there was only a small difference but it was noticeable to the ancient warrior nonetheless. She suspected that the traps would come differently this time around and as such, threw the torch across the hallway in a different fashion. Instead of throwing it straight as she did before, she threw it from the side to see if there was any difference in the angles. The result was that the harpoons shot from beneath the ground instead of behind the walls and she knew how to best dodge this trap.

She would jump across the sides of the walls rather than run across the floor as she had done before. Aiming her course carefully, she picked only points in the wall that would allow her room for bouncing off to the next point in her path. Running in the same manner that she had done before, she lunged out with her feet ahead and landed hard on the first pillar in her planned course. Then she accumulated enough Force energy whilst remaining suspended there to little spring off in seconds.

The harpoon heads erupted forth from the ground in an attempt to intercept her movement but she was too quick for even her clothes to be nicked as they had been before. _Hopefully that's the last of those that I will have to see for at least a little while if I have to see it again_ she thought silently. Then she continued following the path of the spiraling stairs and the winding passages as they led her ever down to the heart of the Temple where the holocron lied. But suddenly, a spurt of fire burst from nowhere and nearly singed her skin and clothes, the closest it came to her life being taken.

It didn't matter in the long run though as she continued to run down the hall, dodging flame spurts whenever they came up though she eventually found a way to undo it. By the time she did though, she was already more than halfway down to the heart of the temple where the holocron was sure to be. The rest of that hallway and the next sections were of no consequence to her as they had no challenges so she guessed that she had survived all three of them though she couldn't be sure. In fact, she wondered if the blades were all part of one test and the flame spurts were part of yet another one.

_Then she arrived at the chamber that held the holocron within and she began to wonder if she had been right in her first suspicion. It isn't too late, control your rage and let go of your vengeance_ she heard a voice say that she could've sworn sounded familiar. All too late, she recognized the voice as belonging to her father and when she tried to reach out to him, she was electrocuted by Force Lightning. "Not in millennia has one come this far to die in my temple but now another soul shall scream my name before it's destroyed!" exclaimed the source.

Arden turned around to see that the source belonged to a human man that seemed shriveled as though he had relied too much on the Dark Side power to live a long life. "Now you shall tremble in the name of Kashi Mer!" the soul added. _The spirit of the Talisman, probably an illusion meant to fool me_ Arden thought to herself. "This is just an illusion and you are dead!" she shouted aloud.

"On the contrary Arden Lyn, I was revived by the powers of the holocron you seek and turned against you. And thank the Force for my luck in that matter too, I have grown so strong from those Yuuzhan Vong souls that I might have broken out of the Talisman were it not for your meddling," the spirit replied. "You are not the real Talisman spirit and you are just an illusion of a long-dead warlord whose time had long past," she mocked. The phantom flickered a little, Arden's words weakening it to such a point where it began to become irrational.

"I will destroy you Arden Lyn and then I will take over your body and use it to exact my revenge against the galaxy!" Kashi Mer vowed. "Maybe next time," Arden retorted before throwing him into a portal growing behind him with the Force. "An impressive display against such a weak-minded fool," another familiar voice said to Arden. Shivering, she turned around to face the source of the voice only to see that it was Xendor.

"Xendor? How... how can this be?" she asked. "The Force offers many possibilities and I have exploited one of them," he answered. "But... you were..." she began. "No longer, I'm alive because of you Arden and you are the love of my existence," he interrupted.

Arden deactivated their lightsabers and tried to touch Xendor though this was apparently another illusion which gave way to reveal the shade of the man who had created the holocron. "You are but a blind insect contemplating all that you have lost before without knowing what you could gain. My return has been inevitable from the day I perished to now. You shall be the hostess of my return and all that is good shall be gone forever!" Vitiate vowed.

"Never!" Arden screamed as she ignited her lightsabers once more and attacked the Sith Lord. He easily countered her with a lightsaber of his own, the red blade glowing with a dark, bloodthirsty passion that stained its light an even darker red than normal. "A Jedi? No, your aura is too dark and ancient for that," Vitiate asked.

"I am Arden Lyn, fallen leader of the Legions of Lettow in the First Great Jedi Schism and lover to Xendor. You, my friend, are just another asshole aspiring to inherit the legacy that we ourselves could barely have comprehended when we began studying the ways of ancient Bogan," she answered. The spirit acted as though she had gravely offended him but it was all the distraction she needed to attack. At first, it could do nothing against her punishing barrage of Jar'Kai and it looked as though she was going to push it into the portal as well.

However, Vitiate saved himself by creating a phantom of Xendor that made Arden hesitate at the moment of truth. The result was that she was Force-pushed away from the spirit that then turned back into its original form and continuously switched between that and the form of Xendor. Whenever Vitiate switched into Xendor, Arden found herself unable to do anything except defend herself from harm. _No, what are you doing Arden; this is only an illusion of the man you love, it's not real!_ the voice of Depa Billaba exclaimed.

With that motivation, Arden's resolve renewed with the combined might of Force Valor and Battlemind coursing through her blood. It was Force power that she was glad to use against this Sith Lord who protected his holocron so diligently. _You'll not use illusions against me!_ she mentally screamed as she continued to fight the phantom before her. "You cannot defeat me, not here in my temple where I can draw upon the power of all the years of Dark Side energy gathered here," he warned.

"If you think that then you are a fool, I was the beginning of the Dark Side thanks to my husband's sacrifice. Together, we attempted to study Bogan and hopefully see if it could be revived for good intent with the promise to leave it alone if it couldn't be. If we had not done that, I highly doubt that you would have your power right about now so you should be grateful I did what I did!" she said. "The Force works in favor of those willing to make sacrifice, I would have found the Dark Side even if you had not," Vitiate said before continuing the fight.

Arden couldn't take much more of his nonsense any longer, she began using her more powerful Force abilities from Kinetite to Force Storm. It began to slowly overwhelm the Phantom of the former Emperor of a Sith army that had come very close to toppling the Old Republic. "No, you must die, you cannot be allowed to take the holocron from here!" he exclaimed. "And why can't I take the holocron if I have earned it from you in fair combat?" she inquired.

"The price to be paid from the extraction of the holocron is more dangerous than you know," he explained. "Listen Lord Vitiate, I was placed in a trance for twenty-five thousand years, more than long enough for not even dust to remain of those I love when I awoke. I was forced to hibernate for fifteen years in an escape pod in the Void of the Universe and I meditated in grief for six months. In my time, I have paid a deeper price for my existence than any pathetic holocron is going to extract out of me!

"Stand aside or be struck down Lord Vitiate, it's your choice and still can be made," she replied furiously. "I will not stand idly by while you still my most prized possession!" he vowed with zeal. "So be it," she said grimly. Then she Force-pushed him into a statue and repeated it when he tried to escape before using Force Speed to stand within centimeters of him and grab both shoulders.

She levitated them both up a massive statue that had been dedicated to Vitiate until her feet could be solidly placed on its head before turning around and throwing the Dark Lord down. It was at this point that she concluded the attack by using a spell she had learned from Xendor early on. A spell that allowed her to send a beam of destructive energy into the statue as its conduit, crumbling its inside. She jumped off it just in time to watch as the foundation gave way and the statue smashed Vitiate where he remained in place.

Looking back on what she had done, she was glad that she had not give him an opportunity to transform back into Xendor before she crushed him. But since nothing else seemed to come out and attack her, she walked over to the pedestal that held the holocron and claimed her prize. _At last, my mission is complete and I have proven myself worthy to Emperor Palpatine!_ she thought. It was a victory that she would savor here in the darkness of this temple where at least she was alone, for once.

**Palpatine sensed Arden Lyn's** victory in retrieving the holocron long before he would need any report about it. His faith in her was well-placed as was his faith in most people that he recruited into the ranks of the Empire. "Lord Vader, do you sense what I have sensed?" the Emperor asked tauntingly. "Yes, that Arden Lyn has succeeded in the obtainment of the Darth Vitiate holocron," Vader answered calmly.

Beneath the regal exterior that Vader put up, the Emperor knew that Vader was spiteful of the fact that he had been proven wrong. Yes, the Inquisitors had defeated Arden Lyn in the duel on Irkalla and provided some merit for his arguments against her abilities. However, it ended at that and it wasn't about whether or not she could do it on the basis of her defeat in that duel. "It would seem as though I was right to presume that the Inquisitors had merely caught Arden off guard when they arrived," Palpatine stated.

"You win, she is more powerful than I had given her credit for being. She may yet serve our purposes well as the Emperor's Hand," Vader admitted. "Not the Emperor's Hand, an Emperor's Hand," Palpatine corrected. "I don't understand," Vader said.

"Arden Lyn was just an experiment a plan that I had envisioned for the betterment of servants of the Empire. Now that I know that she can do well, I am intent on adding warriors with a similar caliber into a new line of duty for the Empire and one less likely to be made obsolete than the Inquisitors are. The Emperor's Hand shall be the dubbing for those that are initiated and they will do what your Inquisitors are currently incapable of," the Emperor explained. "An interesting vision Master and what to do with the Inquisitors once this group is underway?" Vader asked.

"They will be of no concern, they can splinter off and form their own organization for all I shall ever care," Palpatine answered. _I fear he may have lost it now_ Vader thought but didn't say. "And Arden?" he inquired. He hoped the Emperor knew what he meant when he asked the question concerning her.

"You fear how she will react to finding out she is not the only one to hold the title of Emperor's Hand?" Palpatine replied. Vader nodded and warned him that she could become aggressive about hearing that. "Who said she needed to know about the others?" Palpatine asked. "You mean to tell her nothing of them... and I suppose this shall help us control her better," Vader guessed.

It was crude but a valid guess considering what the Emperor had already spilled into Vader's ears. "Yes, she is strong in the ways of the Dark Side and has already been refined in many ways beyond my need to mold her. But she still has a relatively innocent mind though whether or not this is because of the time she was born in, I have no desire to know," Palpatine admitted with a nod. "Then what of your bargain to revive her husband Xendor?" Vader persisted.

"What of it?" Palpatine retorted. At first, Vader was at a loss for words, having never expected so blunt a reply from his Master who was always tedious with his words. Then he figured it out: Palpatine had no intention on following through with his end of his bargain to her. "I understand, Master," Vader said at last.

"Is there anything else you need concern me with?" Palpatine asked. "No sir, nothing at all," Vader answered.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Along the way back to Imperial Center from Dromund Kaas, Arden Lyn had gone into meditation to ponder the consequences of her actions in bringing back the holocron. After all, the spirit of her father had appeared to her for the first time since she had come out of her original hibernation. Something big like that never happened unless her actions were guiding her down a path that would ultimately lead to a doom of sorts she might not avoid easily. That is, if she was meant to avoid it coming to her at all but still there was the matter of the little girl and the man she assumed was her father.

Was that meant to be Arden Lyn's future family, was she meant to find love again and produce a child out of it? If that was the case, why did she still feel attraction to Xendor? Why did she feel the need to have his body united with her own and know that his confidence would get through everything? She wanted to accept the possibility that this might be a sign that she was going to move on with her love life but did she really want to?

Did she really want to give up on what she had with Xendor in favor of falling in love again and restarting her marital life? Too many questions and not enough answers for them, Arden decided it was best to let that matter drop and focus on the reasons that her father's voice might have appeared. It was too real to have been an illusion of the temple of Lord Vitiate, she figured out that much for herself. However, that eliminated several factors as to why he had come along while the remaining ones seemed to make no sense.

After all, he had told her to control her anger and let go of her vengeance. The only vengeance Arden had was against the descendants of the murderers of her husband they themselves were no more. It was also the centerpoint for the only anger she had which was toward the Jedi and anyone who got in the way of her fury towards the children of the Light. So far, Palpatine and his apprentice had not gotten in her way and thus they were not subject to her fury though how long that lasted remained to be seen.

And that was another problem: there was still a spark of doubt in her as to whether or not the Emperor could resurrect her husband. Had he really managed to revive other spirits as ancient as his was? Was he telling the truth when he said he could and had brought back the dead? Or was the extent of his power only about as far as his incredible age allowed it to be?

She had doubted him until he had said that he had resurrected the dead and could do it for her which had sealed their pact. However, she began to wonder if she should consult Vader about the truth of these claims that sounded utterly ridiculous. He looked like he hated the Emperor and if given a chance, he probably wouldn't mind ratting out his Master to save her from total enslavement. Or else, of course, to benefit himself more than to benefit her in the long run like Sith were fond of doing to others.

Was she just a pawn meant to be used in a game that the Sith controlled or was she as free as they had dictated she was? She knew that only time and the will of the Force would reveal the truth of the matter to her. Thus, she decided to be content with that and serve them until further notice though whether or not they'd give her that chance was beyond her. She hoped they did so that her eventual betrayal was more discreet than outright leaving the Empire upon being forced to do so.

The meditation in which she pondered all this took up almost all of the time it took for the lightspeed trip from Dromund Kaas to Imperial Center to be completed. As a result, she wasn't surprised to awaken just in time for the pilot to notify her that they had returned. "Thank you sir, may I ask for your name in case we should be working together in the future?" Arden asked before leaving. "My name is Maarek Stele and I do hope that we should collaborate more though I make no promises on that front," the pilot answered.

"And why not?" she inquired after shaking his hand. She immediately noticed the black hair from the man of her vision but he matched him in no other way. "Let's just say the Emperor and I have a special preference for me being piloting starfighters and chasing off enemies whenever possible. Seldom do I pilot shuttles like this one for missions like yours but the Emperor deemed it a necessary formality to have me escort you to Dromund Kaas," he explained.

_I wonder why but I can only assume that it had something to do with me being new to the ranks of the Empire in rank and in time dedicated_ she thought to herself. "Well it was nice to have you as the pilot and I hope to hear great things about your career in the future," she said aloud. "Thanks though I assure you I am only serving the Emperor as I always have and always will," he replied smiling. "Whether or not you're just doing what you do, you could use a little endorsement sometime," she stated.

He shrugged in yielding to that and let go from shaking her hand after she had given the compliment to him. Then she grabbed her prize from Dromund Kaas and marched off the shuttle to proudly present it to her new Master. He would, after all, have sensed her arrival as well as her success on Dromund Kaas and be expecting her to return with it by now. And sure enough, when she arrived to the Throne Room, his chair rotated so that he faced her while he remained seated.

"I have been expecting you, Arden Lyn," he stated. "I know, Master. Your prize is ready for your taking if you wish," she replied calmly. "Excellent, I had all the faith in the universe that you would succeed in your mission where several of my other servants had failed," he said as he collected it.

When his telekinesis successfully brought the artifact into his hand and Arden had said nothing, he continued with his speeches. "Because of your success, I shall allow you a week of recuperation and vacation depending on which you need more. When that is over, I wish to discuss with you the possibility of training future servants in the martial arts known as Terras Kasi. Someone of your caliber in the style should be allowed to pass it on to future generations, after all," he stated tonelessly.

"And I shall be looking forward to the discussions, Master. Although may I request that I be allowed the ability to handpick the pupils I take in with accordance to their potential in mind?" she asked. "You may have that power, remember: you rule supreme in all matters pertaining to the martial arts style Terras Kasi," he answered. "Thank you milord, with that said I look forward to the candidates you have for me to pick and choose," she said.

"And I look forward to being of service to you in that area as well," he replied. "Will that be all, Master?" she asked. "Unless you have anything to tell me about the mission to Dromund Kaas, yes," he answered._ Should I tell him about the visions that I had when I reached the holocron as well as the appearance of my father in my mind?_ she asked herself silently.

Quickly coming to a decision, she decided she wouldn't tell him that and figure it out for herself if she could first. "No sir, I have nothing to discuss with you on the mission just yet," she said aloud. It was far from the whole truth but at the same time, it did serve her purpose to make that statement. "Very well then, you are dismissed for the week, Emperor's Hand," he stated, using her title to salute her success.

"Thank you Master," she said with a bow before leaving. There was much she wanted to do with the vacation time that she had but she determined it was best to rest first before doing anything. After all, she had just returned from her first real challenge in her service to the Empire and would need to work off the stress caused by the wheels turning in her head. _Guess it's time to head back down to the sparring chambers and work out some more_ she thought to herself as she grabbed a towel.

The Emperor examined his new prize from Arden Lyn with the zeal of a child receiving a new toy for his birthday. For the holocron of Lord Vitiate was a prize he had been seeking for decades, even when he was under the apprenticeship of Darth Plagueis and had trained Maul. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was also a prize sought by Lord Plagueis which encouraged Sidious to send Maul after it. However, he had returned barely alive and without the holocron to which Plagueis had experienced some disappointment in the report but not to the extreme of desiring Maul's destruction.

But despite Plagueis moving on to other means by which to obtain the secret to immortality, Sidious had never lost interest in the holocron of Lord Vitiate. After all, Lord Vitiate himself was the only man to have ever perfected immortality that did not come at the price of essence transfer. Anyone with a desire to truly cheat death would certainly have longed for this as did Sidious but... Alas, he had beaten them all to the holocron and it was thanks to Arden Lyn that it was so.

Sidious knew that the holocron had a unique way of being activated as did all other holocrons so the old man did his best to find the way to the information that Vitiate had. _True that activation is never simple but I don't think that it should be this difficult to activate_ he thought to himself. He tried his best to concentrate but it seemed as though Vitiate had made defenses that threw him off. After hours of trying he simply gave up on trying to open the holocron though he sensed that he had won.

Though partly, he had still managed to break through some of the defenses that Vitiate had left in his holocron which would have caused anyone else's heads to explode. "What is the secret, Vitiate? Why do you so diligently defend your creation from my entry into it?" Sidious demanded. Luckily, no one was around to hear his cries but it made no difference if they had.

He began to feel as though his work had been for nothing but he immediately told himself that there was plenty of time to decipher the holocron's code. Besides, he had servants who could do any task he was asked of and more while he could safely obsess on learning Vitiate's secret. It was a power he vowed to use more frequently especially now that Arden Lyn had proven herself a worthy servant. Smiling, he put aside the holocron and reminded himself to ask her to help him pick her Terras Kasi students when her week of rest was over.

**By the time Arden Lyn** began to even break a sweat in her sparring round, she had already broken three punching bags in half with her mechanical arm. Whether or not this was because of her usage of the Variant of Anger, a secret Terras Kasi technique shown her by her aunt, she didn't know. However, she was willing to bet that her usage of the variant was not entirely out of the question nor unlikely to have increased her endurance as that was the variant was all about.

In return for extreme fatigue as well as massive appetites later, the variant offered incredible speed and power as well endurance that saw to the death of all who fought against it. _Perhaps I'll return to Bunduki and use this technique on the monks someday_ she thought with a smile. Aside from her hatred of the Jedi, she longed for vengeance against the Followers of Palawa and their monks. For although the Jedi had defeated her, killed her husband, and placed her in the hibernation that allowed her to remain in suspended animation until fifteen years ago, they betrayed her.

When the Jedi Council needed information about getting around the systems nearest Bunduki that had fallen to the Legions of Lettow, the monks gave it to them. As if that wasn't bad enough, they had asked for a hefty amount of Republic credits in return, quintessentially betraying their principles. _Sure they thought it was an emergency but it was an unjustifiable breach of trust between them and the Legions of Lettow!_ she exclaimed to herself at the memory of their treason. And that was when she destroyed the fourth punching bag the same way she had destroyed the other three.

"You have a strong hand when you fight, miss. Be careful not to aim that at an ally should you attend a mission with teams," a strange female voice said. Arden turned behind her to see a woman that was a little taller than her with shining brown hair and crystal blue eyes with arms crossed at the door. "Who are you?" Arden asked, wasting no time in dealing with this intrusion as she pulled out another bag.

"Shira Brie's the name but you can call me Shira and your name?" the intruder replied. "Arden Lyn though you may call me Arden for short," Arden said as she took Shira's extended hand. "Pleased to meet you Arden and you know, destroy one more of those bags today and the Emperor may have to arrange the bill. That equipment's expensive, you know," Shira warned after shaking Arden's hand.

"Are you the debtor come to collect?" Arden asked as she put aside the bag for later. "No, I'm just the one who gives you the two-week notice," Shira joked. Arden smirked, humored by what Shira had said to her about being a messenger. "What brings you here?" Arden asked after a pause.

"I was originally intent on coming here to work out but I see you're probably going to need help in the cleanup," Shira answered. "You're probably right about that," Arden replied. Then she began using telekinesis to clean up the mess, including the beans that had spilled out. When it had all been disposed of and cleaned up, Arden turned around and said, "but then probably not", with a smile.

"Showoff," Shira retorted. "Not really, just someone who knows what to do with their Force powers. But I sense that you have potential in the Force, yourself," Arden said. "Yeah, me serving as an apprentice of the Emperor; that'll be the day," Shira replied.

"And why not?" Arden inquired. "Let's just say that he thinks I'm a little too soft for that kind of thing," Shira explained. Arden understood at once what Shira meant by that: the Dark Side demanded those who bore it to become killers and while Arden had done some killing, she was not like Palpatine. "Then become my apprentice, learn to use the martial arts style of the Followers of Palawa known as Terras Kasi," Arden offered.

She saw potential in this brown headed woman who looked like she would was in her mid-teens or so, little over less than a decade younger than Arden at most were it not for the hibernation. "I've heard many different things about that style, including that it can make even someone like me a very dangerous person. Do I really have what it takes to master the style and maybe even become the servant Palpatine wants?" Shira said. "I have faith that you can accomplish anything you desire should you put your all into it and never give up even when it seems impossible," Arden replied, nodding.

Shira looked surprised that anyone would say such a thing to her but Arden meant it. This girl did indeed have the build for Terras Kasi and she would need to decide which variant she wanted later. However, now was the time only for seeing if she would take Arden's offer and they could begin their lessons. "Then I guess you have yourself a new apprentice, Arden Lyn: I'm at your service until you feel I have mastered Terras Kasi but on a condition," Shira replied, kneeling as she did so.

"Speak it and I will see if I can grant it," Arden said. "If I master Terras Kasi as you see fit, I want you to put in a good word for me when I go to apply for service to the Emperor. In my previous attempts, he asked if I had anyone working for him that could endorse me to which I had to say no. That was only a small portion as to why I failed to get a job working for him but that's beside the point," Shira explained.

"I will be happy to do that for you, Shira Jade," Arden said enthusiastically. This was something she could grant and she wasn't kidding about that much. "Thank you Mistress Arden, when do we begin training?" Shira begged, her eyes revealing eagerness to begin immediately. "Come back to me in two days, before the sun rises so we can get you warmed up before the heat starts coming down," Arden answered calmly.

_She'll make for a great student in time but she'll have to learn patience before she's finished, that much is for sure. Even the most bloodthirsty killer is smart to bide their time before catching their prey when necessary to do so_ Arden thought to herself silently. "As you wish, Mistress," Shira said disappointedly. "Don't be too upset and don't call me Mistress, last thing I need is any formality I do not deserve," Arden ordered.

Shira bowed and walked off possibly to get some equipment for her own workout to prepare for her training. To Arden, this was the sign of a cunning, skilled warrior and one that was ready for any challenge that was sure to befall her. It was this same trait in her that had impressed her father when they first crossed paths when Arden was only sixteen years old. Now, she saw it someone else and was determined to be her empathetic link where she had had none in the years before Xendor appeared.

One week later...

Having made Shira Jade her first student to the approval of the Emperor and having devoted the rest of her vacation to giving Shira the beginnings of development in her technique, she was ready. Arden was ready for action, any action, as was her new apprentice and the Emperor could not have been more ready to give them an opportunity. "In Tatooine, a pitiful speck of a planet in the middle of space, there is a Tusken Raider named Hoar who is causing trouble in Mos Eisley," he said directly.

"One little man working alone? Shouldn't be a problem for even me, let alone Arden," Shira spoke up. "There's more: the only one who knows when he strikes before he does is a Gamorrean named Thok. Rumor has it that he and Hoar collaborate for profit gain with Thok challenging anyone seeking him to a fight.

"If they lose, they have to pay him for the information and that's just assuming that they're still alive after that. But if they win, he will reveal details plans for free... To think that one of those Tusken Raiders can actually be cunning enough to orchestrate attacks like this is remarkable," he answered. "And why is that?" Arden asked.

"Let's just say Tusken Raiders are not often known to be intelligent nor effective in anything they do without the element of surprise," Shira answered. "Precisely," Palpatine agreed. "Then perhaps we can use _that_ to our advantage when we find him. Anything that can be used to make him sloppy and stupid like the rest of his people is a point for us," Arden suggested.

"Then I presume you wish to go on this mission for me?" Palpatine asked. Arden nodded and Shira did the same before he told them he wanted these two alive if possible. "Do with them as you wish after you present them to me but I want you to prove to me that you have succeeded," he added. "Shouldn't be too difficult, especially if they're working alone," Shira stated.

"Do not be so confident or so eager, my apprentice. Even the greatest of predators can fall victim to ego and be killed by their prey," Arden warned. "Wiser words have never been uttered," Palpatine admitted. _Or was it just him saying he agreed to shut me and my pupil up?_ Arden asked herself .

"I will begin immediately with the mission, the sooner we get it underway the sooner we can complete it," she said after a moment's pause. "Of course, I will not hold you back from your destiny any longer," he replied with a smile. Arden and Shira smiled uneasily before marching off to begin their mission. "Do you really think it's our destiny to have our path intertwined with these two beyond our adventure?" Shira asked.

"I truly do not know whether or not it is though I don't see why it couldn't happen. If the will of the Force decrees it then we will meet them again," Arden answered. "But what if the will of the Force dictates that they die? Will we be the one to kill them?" Shira continued.

"I don't know, Shira. I truly don't know," Arden admitted. That ended the conversation immediately and there was nothing more to be said afterwards instead, the mission became the focus.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Arriving to Tatooine, Arden Lyn could immediately see why Palpatine had called it a pitiful speck of a planet and why Shira Jade hated the idea of going there. It was a desert planet at all four corners, nothing but sand swirling across the wind and nothing but sand as the ground beneath them. "I've never seen a planet so lifeless," she said immediately. "Oh trust me, it gets better when we get a little deeper into Mos Eisley: you'll never find a greater cauldron of scum anywhere," Shira replied.

"The planet is that harsh on the people here?" Arden asked. "Oh it's not the harshness of the planet, it's a refuge for gangsters, smugglers, pirates, and hired assassins. Bounty hunters often make their way here in case the Hutts decide to hire them for important jobs as well," Shira answered quickly. "Wait, so basically Tatooine is a world where criminals rule supreme without interference from the law?" Arden inquired.

Shira nodded, adding that some of these criminals had been dubbed so even before the rise of the Empire. "Then you'd think their crimes from before the Empire would have been excused with its rise, right?" Arden suggested. "I'm afraid it isn't that simple. Even though the Empire reformed from many of the things that made the Republic the way it was, there were still many things unchanged.

"One of those things were criminal records: in other words, if you were a criminal before, you're one now," Shira explained. "That's a little unfair, don't you think?" Arden asked rhetorically. "The Emperor and Lord Vader don't give a shit about being fair, only about maintaining power. In this new galaxy that they've created, only the strong survive and the weak serve the strong," Shira answered.

Arden thought about the implications of that statement, readily accepting a world like that but not an entire galaxy. All she and Xendor had wanted in their day was for their research to be accepted and used to the benefit of the Jedi Order's growth, not to its detriment as the Council thought. They had wanted to remain members of the Order in a universe of curiosity, learning, and even love. But nothing had prepared them for the greed and corruption of the Council except for Jedi Master Pina.

Though he was the man who would ultimately imprison Arden Lyn in her hibernation, he had initially defended their research with vigor. He had determined that tradition could be made stronger by what Arden and Xendor offered to find out for the Council before his voice was shut off forever. But Arden returned her mind to the present and asked Shira to track down Thok and get him talking. "I will go and examine the attack sites myself and determine which one he's most recently hit," she added.

"Yes Mistress, I shall but if he has potential to be a student do I persuade him to come along?" Shira asked. "If he does and if you can," Arden answered, nodding. "Yes Mistress, he will be defeated by the Variant of the Assassin if he tries to put up any resistance," Shira vowed. "Remember, we need him alive even if he doesn't have the potential," Arden reminded.

Shira nodded and raced off to find someone who knew the way to Thok while Arden requested knowledge of Hoar's favorite attack areas. "It's been impossible to pinpoint a pattern but we were able to find some favorite places that he liked to visit," a stormtrooper colonel told her. "Show me the attack points," Arden requested. "Yes milady, would you like to start with his most recent attack and continue from there?" he asked.

"If that's not out of your way, I would," she answered. The colonel called in a speeder and had one of his subordinates take Arden to the sites and answer any questions she had as best as possible. "All right, the first site we'll be taking you to is a rather big moisture farm that the Empire relies on for its water supplies whenever the Emperor can't have shipments sent out here. Filters are required to safely drink some of it but for the most part, the water's pretty crisp," the sergeant explained along the way.

"I would have thought that there'd be no water on a planet as dry as this," she stated rather calmly. "For the most part, you're right but there are pockets of moisture here and there that we pay farmers to exploit for our benefit and theirs. Tatooine has other valuables not too far away from the water wells and it's not uncommon for the farmers to dig up some of those materials," the sergeant said. "What's typically dug up out of these moisture farms?" she inquired.

"A few precious metals that eventually find their way into our blasters and armor but nothing like cortosis or phrik alloy which can resist lightsaber cuts. Those exist on only a few planets and unfortunately, this isn't one of them," he answered. _Valuable metals and stones were rare even in my day, it's no surprise to me that it's rare now_ she thought but didn't say. "Why do you think Hoar favors this area when he attacks as much as some of the other locations?" she asked aloud.

"It's all about money nowadays, milady. Hoar wants the precious metals that these farmers sometimes so he can sell it to the Hutts," he answered. "And who are the Hutts?" she continued. "A bunch of sluglike thugs that feed upon the suffering of those they exploit for gain, they're gangsters," he said.

After a little bit of time for silence, they arrived at the moisture farm and Arden began looking around. She wasn't surprised to find dead stormtroopers though she did wonder how they got bludgeoned to death. "Sergeant, do Tusken Raiders carry any kind of weapon they might use to beat someone up close and directly with?" she asked. "They have metal rods called gaderffii sticks that they use when their blasters fail them," he answered.

_No doubt they also go into hand to hand combat as well when their sticks fail them too_ Arden observed. She continued to examine the corpses through the Force with a wave of her hand and she was able to recreate the scene of the attack in a series of pictures that played in her head. "Well he didn't attack with a whole lot of precision nor do I think he was alone in these attacks. Do these Tusken Raiders frequently travel in groups before they attack?" she inquired.

"Yes milady, it's almost impossible to get a Tusken Raider to travel by himself," the sergeant answered. _In that case, there may be some bloodshed after all. I had hoped to avoid it but it may not be out of order if this man doesn't travel alone_ she regretted silently. From the pictures, she was able to discern a pattern of attack that she could intercept once she had a place where he'd strike next.

This had her hoping that her apprentice was quick in finding Thok and equally quick in persuading him to talk. True that they needed both alive but Arden hadn't placed any limitations as to the lengths Shira could go to get an answer so long as she didn't kill him. She wondered if even with her mastery of the Variant of the Assassin, she'd have what it took to be cruel. But then she remembered how she thought she hadn't had any evil within her until the Schism began and the Legions were formed.

**Having gotten a location** for Thok's frequent hangout out of a stormtrooper that had just been thrown out of a bar for misconduct, Shira now made her way to where the Gamorrean hid. "Drink's on me Pigman if you can tell me where Hoar the Tusken Raider plans to strike next," Shira said. She had purchased two cups of Korriban Fire Whiskey before settling down at Thok's table to talk. "I don't mind the drink but I do mind being called 'Pigman', little miss," Thok warned.

"Give me a location and I'll apologize immediately," Shira insisted calmly. "Listen miss, Hoar and I have been pals since we were little kids. I'm not about to rat out such a friend without a price rivaling that," Thok snapped arrogantly. "Well, I was going to offer you the chance to learn the ancient martial arts style known as Terras Kasi at the feet of my Mistress but I think that's out the window," Shira suggested.

"Yeah, I don't wanna learn no martial arts. I'm a good enough brawler without that old fashioned crap," Thok exclaimed. "Then I'll make you a deal: if you beat me with your brawling skills, I'll leave you alone. But if I win, you have to tell me the location Hoar plans to strike at next and I may throw in obligatory Terras Kasi lessons as a stake," Shira offered calculatingly. Already, she had planned out a sequence of events for her Variant of the Assassin to topple his brawling skills.

She would let him try to attack first and then exploit any and all openings he left in the wake of his attack. "All right missie, you go yourself a deal. Head outside right now," Thok said as he stood up to leave the bar. Shira chugged down her whiskey whilst Thok left his on the table to be collected by someone else later. _Damn that felt good on my throat, now let's see what happens next_ she thought to herself excitedly.

Thok pointed to where he wanted her to go for the purposes of this fight and she obliged, knowing she would win no matter where he placed her. "Prepare yourself to be squashed little woman," he warned. "Is that the best threat you can do? My grandma scared me with her spanking threats more than you've scared me so far," she mocked.

This angered the 'Pigman' into doing precisely as she wanted: making the first move in a fit of anger. He made an overextended punch that she dodged with ease before practicing the first rule of the Variant of the Assassin: turn your enemy's strength against him whenever and wherever possible. Grabbing his arm, she wrestled him over her back and made several chops and punches to his throat and chest respectively. But whether it was because of the blubber he had in those areas or because of his sheer will, he was soon back up on his feet for another round.

"I promise I'll give you the whipping your grandmother never did. I'll bust your ass wide open with a single slap of my hand!" he vowed. "Well, you'll have to reach my ass first, now won't you?" she taunted. "That's it girl, you're dead meat now!" he shouted.

He charged again but this time with intent to grab her so that he could deliver on his vow. However, she was agile enough to dodge this and attack his side and back with several punches and chops that shattered ribs and had him gasping for air. But because of his size and possibly his will, he recovered from this and tried to swipe at her, whilst foolishly doing a full 180 degree turn in the process. Shira scoffed at this and caught the arm before delivering a blow to a small section of his arm near his elbow bone.

"That supposed to be a tickle?" he asked. "It was aimed for your nervous system in that area. The blow itself might have been painless but you won't be using that arm for a couple hours," she answered. He became fearful that she was right and when he tried to use his left arm again, it only dangled in place.

_Now this is where things will get exciting in this duel_ she thought to herself silently. With his good arm, the Gamorrean charged one last time with another overextended punch but she caught this. When she did, she extended the palm of her hand out with enough strength to shatter the cartilage in his nose. "Hey Thok, I thought you were unbeatable; look what a little human girl is doing to you!" exclaimed a Twi'lek in the audience.

"Shut up you! I'll beat this little Imperial scumbag into the dust before I'm through!" Thok shouted in reply. "The great Gamorrean servant of Jabba the Hutt is getting his ass handed to him by a little human chick from the Empire! Who'd have thunk?" mocked a Bothan.

_The audience is turning against him, this is where I can kill him with ease if I wanted to_ Shira observed quietly. Her green eyes focused on the movements of the Gamorrean who seemed to be all brawn and no brains at this point. With his remaining arm raised high, he intended to swipe her upside the head which would give any normal person a massive concussion and comatosed them for weeks. However, Shira Brie was no normal person and she proved it by charging up to Thok for the first time in this battle and conducting a chopping motion of her hand to his underarm.

The blow rushed so much blood up to the Pigman's brain that he almost hemorrhaged right then and there but couldn't fight anymore even without it. "Now, about that information that you promised me when we agreed to have this fight," Shira began after letting him recover a little. "That wasn't fair, you took cheap shots whenever you could!" Thok shouted. "Nope, I took the shots required of a master of my variant of Terras Kasi known as the Variant of the Assassin," she calmly replied.

Then she insisted on the info that Thok owed her and Thok was quick to tell her where Hoar planned on attacking. "He's going to start at Spaceport C-62 and see if he can make his way through the whole C-shelf before going elsewhere," Thok said. "Thank you, now rest and remain in the bar until I return: you need Terras Kasi lessons, my friend," Shira replied. Immediately, Shira relayed the information to her Mistress who copied her and asked a sergeant to take her there.

**"Spaceport 62 is the** most heavily attacked spaceport of any that we have controlled so far. It's the one where we receive the cargo from Kessel only to have it stolen," the sergeant said. "What's the cargo from Kessel?" Arden asked. "Spice from their spice mines where we keep our most rebellious prisoners work until they drop," the sergeant answered.

_I have heard of similar things happening before back in the days of the Republic's formation. The strongest and most uncooperative prisoners were assigned to the toughest worlds in the colonization efforts in hopes of breaking them into submission_ Arden observed. "Then let's head there and get ready to protect the cargo. Lure them out with the promise of easy pickings and then destroy them when they come within range," she ordered aloud.

"Milady, that's against Imperial protocol!" the sergeant answered. "I am Imperial protocol so long as the Emperor and Vader are absent. And I am telling you to order your superiors to strategize in that fashion if they want to better protect their cargo. Once that's done, if Hoar is not already dead, I will challenge him to single combat in front of his people: he won't deny me," she replied.

The sergeant contacted the Colonel and informed him of Arden's orders to his great reluctance before finally being persuaded. "When the Emperor hears about this, he won't be pleased with the breach of protocol," the sergeant warned. "Number one, the Emperor doesn't need to know: you can always say that you tightened security and it paid off. And number two, what's breaching protocol about baiting your enemies into a trap and then destroying them when I've seen worse off the Empire?" Arden retorted.

"You make valid points there Arden but those times where you saw worse were necessary actions taken by the Empire to maintain its properties," the sergeant replied, somewhat confused. "Were you even present at any of these breaches of military protocol? Or are you just rambling out what the Emperor and Vader want you to ramble out?" she demanded. The sergeant said nothing to answer which was answer enough for her and when she arrived, her trap was set in motion.

After dealing with Thok and insuring his future loyalty lied with her and Arden Lyn, Shira Brie decided it was best to take him to the shuttle and stay put until Arden finished with Hoar. In the meantime, she had to put up with Thok snoring in his sleep or else his constant questions when awake. "What variant do you think would fit me?" he asked first. "The Variant of Strength, most likely though I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to give you the Variant of the Rancor," she answered.

"Why is that?" he demanded. "Because you're just as reckless and just as dumb as a rancor," she snapped. "Hey, just because you beat me doesn't mean you can say that about me!" he warned, trying to use the arm that was still limp before giving up. "Damn, do all the variants have this much power on somebody's ability to move a limb?" he inquired.

"Not all of them no although all of them do have the ability to give their Masters unparalleled physical power in their hands," she explained. "Doesn't the name 'Terras Kasi' mean something related to the strength of a person's hands?" he suggested. "'Steel Hands' is its translation from Bunduki, the language of the Followers of Palawa who originated the art. They also found techniques unrelated to fighting that Arden used to survive the stopping of her heart via the Force.

"The result was that she was tranced for twenty-five thousand years, having only been awakened fifteen and a half years ago. Twice, she fell back into her own hibernations after that: one in space for fifteen years and another on Irkalla for six months," she stated. "Yikes, that must suck," he stated. "The first one did but the next two weren't as bad," she admitted.

"Now it'll only be a matter of time before Hoar attacks and she fights him. I wonder if she'll have any difficulty beating him," he said. "Why would you wonder that if she is my Mistress and my teacher?" she asked. "Hoar's killed Jedi and Dark Jedi before for money," he answered.

"Arden is no mere Jedi and definitely not a Dark Jedi. No, I think she belongs in her own, dangerous category: a Fallen Jedi. Shunned by the Light for her curiosities but reviled by the Dark Side for her inability to fully immerse herself in it," she confessed. "Do you say this because you're the same way?" he inquired.

"Had I been a member of the Order at any point in my life, I might have. But that's all that's missing for me to suffice that fit," she replied, shaking her head before speaking. "Would you ever want that fit?" he asked. Shira thought about that, at first confused by why he would ask it but then it became apparent so she just shook her head.

It ended all conversation in that simple response and Thok just rubbed his forehead when he had to. The near-hemorrhage still caused his head to ache sometimes and it was enough that he would probably need pain medications for a couple months to get his blood flow properly aligned._ She's pretty tough for a scrawny little human_ Thok thought to himself quietly. And indeed she was tough for someone of her physical appearance, who wouldn't be after serving the Emperor?

**"Hoar, it's almost time** for the attack. What do we do this time?" a young Raider asked his commander. "Same as always, use our sheer numbers to overwhelm the security guards and take the spice with force," Hoar answered. "Is that really wise... they might have upgraded by now?" the young warrior insisted.

"Oh no worries, the Imperials wouldn't know to do that if the cue came and bit them in the face," Hoar replied. The young warrior settled down after that and on Hoar's signal, the attack began and it was the seventeenth attack that this tribe of Tusken Raiders would make. Assuming that there was anyone to kill but it looked as though the spice shipments had been deserted this time around. Or else, they had actually walked into a trap just as the younger warrior had feared would be happening.

_No, the Imperials can't have gotten smarter since the last time that we attacked this spaceport!_ he thought to himself silently. His worst fears were confirmed the very moment that the stormtroopers came from nowhere and opened fire on Hoar's people. It was over in a matter of seconds with the majority of the three-dozen-membered party being killed immediately. Only Hoar himself and at least seven others survived and that was before he heard the worst thing possible.

"I challenge Hoar to single, hand-to-hand combat. If you win, we let you go and compensate for those who have fallen but if you lose, you are my slave until I command otherwise," a woman said. Something about her intimidated and scared him but he knew that he would answer this; he had to.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Arden Lyn was impressed by the speed and efficiency of the attack the stormtroopers had put in. It had surprised the raiding party of Sand People and allowed her the means to challenge Hoar to face her on her terms. He had been called out in front of his people and if he was still alive and/or had any value left for his honor, he would not deny the challenge. Sure enough, a Tusken Raider more fiercely clad than the rest of his kind emerged from the clutter of warriors that remained.

"All this trouble for a challenge I would have accepted right away? You'll pay dearly human," he answered. "Hand-to-hand, no blasters or weapons of any kind. If I win, your people surrender to Imperial custody and you surrender to my personal arrest until further notice," she stated.

"What if I win?" he asked. _I should have known that the son of a whore would have wanted something in return for winning. But then I _did_ just lay down some stakes for him losing_ she thought silently. "Free spice for everyone for all time and as much as you want," she said.

"Alright human, you just made yourself a deal that has sealed your fate! I am the greatest warrior of all the tribes of Tusken Raiders in Tatooine!" he shouted. "Good, then your fall will be the loudest to be heard by all," she mocked calmly. Several of the stormtroopers and even some of the Sand People chuckled at that remark. Hoar decided, angered by the mockery, to immediately charge right into Arden in the hopes of landing a blow.

Instead, Arden simply channeled her energies towards the Variant of Anger (she would have used the Variant of the Assassin had she desired to prolong this duel and wear him out). The result was him not only missing but having the whole of his spinal cord attacked by a series of superhuman blows. "I have seldom needed the Force for dealing with garbage like you," Arden said while he was on the ground. "We'll soon see about that, you don't scare me!" he retorted after rising back up for another dose of pain.

_I never did intend to scare you, rabble. Only make you look like a fool in front of your people_ she thought but didn't say. She was too focused on the fight at hand to really care about scaring him as much as angering him. Anger made him stupid, that much she could tell as had been the case with his partner in crime Thok.

Both of them were strong and more than capable of taking down most normal humans with their bare hands in combat like this. However, Arden sensed the Variant of Anger beginning to take its toll on his body as was to be expected since each blow clouded the victim's senses. It didn't kill, it wasn't meant to do that, but it dull the wits and intellect of a fighter until they became raw anger itself. At that point, the opponent who had used the Variant could finish them off with relative ease and quickly.

"You cannot fight with your senses dulling, Hoar. It's only a matter of time before I beat you so you might as well surrender now and save some humiliation," she warned. She knew this warning would fall on deaf ears, it always did whenever she used this Variant on someone. But she was only aiming to use to further antagonize him and bring him down to madness faster than the normal rate for this method.

"I'll show you power like none you have ever seen in your whole miserable life!" Hoar exclaimed. Then he charged her again and began throwing a series of random punches and kicks that Arden evaded or deflected with relative ease. It was after he began to further wear out that she decided to lay down the finishing moves that would end this duel just as quickly as she desired. When he raised fists for boxing again, she merely smacked both sides of his head in martial arts fashion.

The result was that he was rendered dizzy for several critical seconds that she used to knee him in the stomach and grab the back of his mask. "Let's see the true face of our enemy, shall we?" she asked jokingly. The Tuskens gasped, a sign that the removal of the mask was a great dishonor to their people and something Arden could use to her advantage. She ripped the mask off his face and tossed it aside to see a somewhat humanoid (though deformity stood to make Hoar unique) face.

"How _dare_ you!" he exclaimed. Arden smiled, kneeing him again and then grabbing his head before ramming it right into a nearby wall and throw him around their arena. He crashed on several items, including part of a fuel canister which gave him a concussion when he landed his head there. "The fight is over, Hoar; your people view you as a disgraced, fallen member of their society," Arden said.

"Your death will redeem me!" he exclaimed. "No Hoar, she's right. It's over, we need a new leader now that you have been disgraced. Sorry Hoar but it is time we left," a young warrior spoke up.

And just like that, the rest of Hoar's Tusken Raider tribe surrendered to Imperial custody and Arden was able to take in Hoar. "It could have gone a lot worse for you, you know that right?" she asked him as she pulled him over to her shuttle. "How? You unmasked me and now my people would kill me if given the chance," he asked.

"That's one way it could have been worse: you could have been betrayed by your own sense of honor. Another way things could have been worse is that you could have been immediately put on trial before Lord Vader and the Emperor. They would have targeted you for execution already, the trial being only a formality to ease the tension," she answered. "And how am I better off with you than that?" he demanded.

"I offer you full pardon for your crimes and freedom to live as you choose in exchange for training in the ancient martial arts known as Terras Kasi. After all, I used it to defeat you but you do have the potential to become an even greater warrior than you already are," she explained calmly. "But what if I don't agree to this training?" he inquired. "Then you die humiliated and disgraced in front of all the galaxy, it's as simple as that," she explained bluntly.

"I accept your training on the condition that Thok join up with me, then," he said. "He's already been given the same pardon terms as you. You'll be seeing him again for sure," she replied. And she replied just in time for Shira Brie and the Gamorrean prisoner to greet her and her Tusken prize.

"I knew you'd be able to capture him, Mistress Arden!" Shira exclaimed. "Calm yourself apprentice, we're not through with our prisoners just yet," Arden replied calmly. Nonetheless, Shira's confidence in her and the enthusiasm behind it did make her laugh slightly and half smile. "What do you think the Emperor will allow us to do with these guys?" Shira asked when they were alone.

"I've already petitioned for full pardon in exchange for Terras Kasi training and full responsibility for any actions outside of the training," Arden answered. "Is that really wise, Mistress? If they try to rebel against the Empire again, it could be our necks that the Emperor cuts first," Shira inquired. "I highly doubt he'll go that far but he will hold us responsible for our actions and that's my last word," Arden replied.

"Very well Mistress, I just wished for a little caution to be aired is all," Shira stated. "I understand your concerns Shira, I truly do. Which is why I'm going to request Palpatine to examine your potential in the Force and see if you're worthy of the lightsaber," Arden said. Shira paled in surprise and she nearly fell to her knees in gratitude for what her Mistress had told him.

"I don't... I don't know how to thank you enough Arden," Shira said after a moment of silence. "Make no attempt to thank me, Shira. I don't need any repayment except to see you become a Master of Terras Kasi and a more than efficient servant of the Empire," Arden said with a smile. "Thank you, you're the best friend that I've had in my life," Shira exclaimed whilst hugging her Mistress.

"I can tell it's been your dream to wield a lightsaber for quite sometime," Arden offered. "Yes, most of my life actually," Shira admitted. "Then I'll see what I can do to have the Emperor see to the beginning of your dream come true," Arden replied. "Thank you Master, thank you very much," Shira stated.

**"You have done well** Arden Lyn, Hoar and Thok have evaded the other servants for some months but you manage to capture them in a single day. Once again, the Emperor's Hand has pleased the Emperor and his executioner Lord Vader. Is there anything the great Arden Lyn can request of me besides what she put in before the mission?" Palpatine asked. Arden had arrived and her hostages had been sentenced to the training that she planned to give them in the martial arts Terras Kasi immediately.

"Just one, your Majesty. I didn't capture Hoar and Thok single-handedly, I had the help of my pupil Shira Brie who brought down Thok by herself while I dealt with Hoar. She has proven herself more than capable in the Variant of the Assassin with this and can serve you well," Arden explained. "You request some kind of reward for her for her efforts in the mission?" Palpatine asked tonelessly. "Yes of course, your Majesty: I would like you to examine Shira Brie for Force potential, she has dreamed of this all her life," Arden answered.

"Very well, bring her forth," he said. He looked as though he was already disgusted and was hoping for a failure in her Force abilities. Why he was so disgruntled was beyond her but when he began to telepathically examine Shira's potential, his disgust melted away. "This is indeed quite a surprise: your pupil is powerful in the Force and will need training in order to harness her attunement," he said.

"Then she is capable of wielding a lightsaber?" Arden asked. Shira's excitement mounted and Palpatine flinched, possibly from sensing the excitement in her at this revelation. "If trained well, more than capable of wielding a lightsaber, yes," he answered at last. "In that case, with your permission, I shall personally see to her training in the arts," she suggested.

"Do that and remember that if either of your other pupils make a wrong move, they will be plucked immediately," he warned. "I understand Master, they will remain in servitude to me until further notice," she replied calmly with a bow. When Palpatine dismissed the four of them, Shira whispered a thanks to Arden though this was again rebuffed by Arden stating that she needed no gratitude. "Lightsabers, so I've heard, require a crystal as a focusing lens right?" Shira asked.

"That's what my last apprentice told me, yes. However, these lightsabers at my belt were not originally mine so I wouldn't know how to help you with making a lightsaber. For that, I think I'm going to have request information from Lord Vader on the matter," Arden admitted. "I await the information to form my own lightsaber, I have a purple adagent crystal that I can use as a lens," Shira said.

"All this talk of lightsaber making bores me, when do I begin learning how to use Terras Kasi to beat people up?" Thok asked. "Soon enough but for now, we need to arrange your sleeping chambers and Hoar's if we ever hope to make you comfy for your stay," Arden answered. "I don't need sleeping quarters, I'm a disgrace to the name Tusken Raider!" Hoar exclaimed. "But you're not a disgrace to the name Terras Kasi, not yet anyways," Arden replied.

That shut up Hoar immediately since that was a point to consider for them all except Arden who had already figured it all out. "Here are your rooms gentlemen, make the most of them that you can," Arden said when they arrived. "You're not going to yours for the night, my Mistress?" Shira asked. "Not yet, you need your information as well as a little training in the Force though the latter will be for tomorrow," Arden answered.

"Then what do you intend to do tonight, Mistress besides getting the information I'll need?" Shira inquired. "A little more training, suffice it to say, for myself," Arden replied. Thok and Hoar scratched their heads but Shira understood what her Mistress meant but saying that. "You need your rest Arden, you can't go on much longer without at least some meditation or sleep," Shira stated.

"I slept for twenty-five thousand years, went into a trance for fifteen years, and meditated for six months. You, more than anyone, should know that's more than enough rest for anyone," Arden replied. "Gentlemen, can you go into your rooms and let us be?" Shira asked. _She's going to try and persuade me that I need rest_ Arden thought as she marched off to the sparring room.

"Wait Mistress, wait," Shira said after seeing the men obey. "Shira, every time I rest I suffer from the memories of my past coming back to haunt me and drive me crazy. Even when I'm wide awake, some of the visions haunt me but I'm especially consumed when I rest," Arden replied. "Tell me Mistress, what pains you so and maybe I can help," Shira suggested.

"There is nothing you can do Shira, my husband and I tried to advocate for the research of the Dark Side so that the Jedi could prevent beings like Palpatine and Vader from existing," Arden said. "Your... husband? I didn't know," Shira asked. "I wouldn't have expected you to: he's as dead as the rest of those who fought in the First Jedi Schism," Arden answered.

"Tell me what happened between the two of you, tell me where is your pain so that perhaps I can take it away," Shira begged. Arden sighed as she set up a punching bag to blow off steam when they arrived in the sparring chamber. "When I was a little girl, my mother died giving birth to my brother who died minutes after. My father abandoned me with my aunt and uncle to help with the colonization efforts of the then-newly formed Republic after that and for years I never knew him," Arden began.

"Go on, Mistress, what happened after that?" Shira asked. "The normal cliche life of a Jedi back then: I was trained to become a Jedi sentinel and lived all my post-teenage life with the Order. However, I met a special man named Xendor who showed me a whole universe full of possibilities and even proposed to me with one of them after obtaining the blessing of my foster parents. I had loved him for years before and we had been friends since childhood which made it seem natural for us.

"We went on to attempt to decipher the code that gave the Dark Side, then known as Bogan, its strength and its ability to manipulate and ensnare anyone who fell under it fully. Xendor and I were both prestigious members of the Council by then and hoped to use our prestige to persuade. But the Council was greedy and corrupt, lusting only profit and thus they had no desire to understand Bogan. In many ways, it already possessed them under those circumstances though we didn't know it then," she continued reluctantly.

"So the Council turned against you two which caused you to splinter and form the Legions of Lettow in protest?" Shira asked. Arden nodded and added that the Legions were doomed to fail even with the help of the criminal underbelly that the Republic was already forming. "But the biggest blow that revealed their corruption was when they chose to hire an assassin previously defeated by Xendor. His name was Loki the Destroyer and the Council's strategy (and hope) was for them to kill each other.

"This would eliminate two of their biggest pests at the same time and without dirtying their hands before sending my own father to deal with me. He had only been reunited with me once or twice before and neither time had he revealed his association with me," Arden answered. "Then I'm guessing he's the one who put you into the hibernation?" Shira inquired. "No, his intent was to kill me by stopping my heart with a powerful Force technique now lost to all, I put myself in the hibernation to cheat death," Arden said.

"You then woke up to see that everything you had loved was considered a myth to the galaxy, not even dust remaining of the monuments built to honor them. Loneliness consumes you at every turn, slowly and painfully, but I know what it's like to lose family. I can't relate to having slept for twenty-five thousand years and lived to tell the tale but I can relate to loss of family and all I had," Shira explained. "I suppose you could and you are, without a doubt, one of the few people in this alien galaxy that fears and hates people like us that I would call a friend," Arden confessed.

"Then let me help you," Shira begged. "It's too late: if the insanity that my loneliness brings doesn't destroy me first my desire to have a normal life will," Arden replied sadly. "I don't believe that and I'll continue to help you as long as I possibly can," Shira snapped as she placed a hand on Arden. Arden fell to her knees and closed her eyes in an attempt to hold back her tears but she was no unable to thank Shira for her kindnesses.

"We are two of a kind Arden Lyn, whether you are a fallen Jedi and I am not or the other way around. It is people like us who live through our deeds even when our bodies have long gone to dust like all that came before us. Seldom do two people like us cross paths as we have and we need to stick together, treasuring that in the process," Shira explained. Arden took a moment to register that as well as wipe away the single tear that had escaped from her eyes during this conversation.

Then, when she had calmed herself and was ready to do so, she spoke to tell Shira that she would need to see Lord Vader if she wanted the information she needed. "I will but I'd much rather stay with you until I know you won't go whacko when I leave," Shira replied. "Trust me child, I will not," Arden promised. "I'll check for destroyed punching bags after you leave if that's the case," Shira teased.

Arden smiled and bade her apprentice goodnight before deciding that maybe it was better just to meditate instead of destroying things that didn't belong to her. But she wouldn't get much out of it before the familiar breathing of Lord Vader came into the room like a noisy snake. "You wish to see me, Lord Vader?" she asked immediately. "Yes Arden Lyn, there is the matter of your apprentice learning to use the lightsaber that we must speak of," he answered.

A quick reading of his pulses told Arden that he had not come to talk about the lightsaber training. "Bullshit, why are you really here?" she demanded. "I have a mission I wish for you to attend to when you can," Vader began, pausing after that. "Well get on with it, I can't go on a mission for the Emperor's executioner without details," she requested.

Agitated, Vader decided it was probably for the best that he did continue with the details. "A rogue Jedi, wielding a double-sided lightsaber has been attacking several critical Imperial bases. Her most recent attack has included a Kuat Shipyard that is essential to operations in an entire system. Destroy her and bring me her lightsaber whether in pieces or intact though I'd prefer it intact," he explained bluntly.

"I will leave at once, Master Vader," she said as she rose from her meditative stance. "Remember this also, Arden Lyn: the woman is old and relies purely on Force Valor whenever she strikes. If you have that ability then you can counter her application of it and neutralize her long enough to finish her off," he added. "Of course, I've done it before and I am more than willing to do it again if I must," she retorted.

"Then we are agreed?" Vader asked. "Of course, I long to begin my revenge against the descendants of the Jedi that imprisoned me so long ago. Why would I not be eager?" Arden answered. Vader shrugged and he watched as she left to begin packing up for a mission that she didn't doubt would be solo which he confirmed to her when she asked.

"She'll underestimate you when you arrive alone, figuring that her years of experience will be more than a match for any young opponent that can be thrown at her," Vader said. "She'll find that she's not the oldest person in the world and that the woman she confronts is though still in good shape. Don't worry, she'll be taken down in a matter of hours at most upon my arrival to her next location," Arden vowed. _I am hardly worried about that, Arden though I am worried if you are not realizing that the Emperor does not intend to give you your desire_ Vader thought but didn't say as she left.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

The old Jedi woman looked upon the ruin she had created in an important Imperial shipyard and despite her victory, she felt hollow and empty. Nothing had been the same since her daughter Fable Astin had left her to go about her own way in the galaxy. Hermione Astin had raised her well despite the fact that she had been surprised to find Force-sensitivity in her daughter earlier on. But as she shut off her purple-bladed saberstaff, she reflected on just how much she truly missed her little girl.

But Fable was strong like her mother and the old woman would have not too much difficulty adjusting to a lonely existence though she could use some company every now and then. After reflecting on what she had done in this shipyard, she sensed a presence stronger than any she had sensed before. This was too strong to be her daughter, she knew this but it was also too closely balanced between Light and Dark to be her daughter or Lord Vader come to kill her. Whoever or whatever this was, Hermione was not about to leave its intent for her to chance, not just yet anyways.

But as she came closer to meeting the source of the presence, she sensed that it was far more ancient than anything known in the galaxy yet as young as her daughter at the same time. _How does this happen? Why is something so young, so ancient?_ she asked herself. She knew there was only one way to find out: confront the source of this Force-attuned aura personally and that's what she would do.

**Arriving to the destroyed** shipyard, Arden had to admit that she was somewhat impressed by the power this old Jedi she was sent to fight had displayed. It was almost no wonder that Shira Brie had practically opposed her against going after this warrior of the Light. Hermione Astin proved to be a formidable warrior and when Arden sensed her aura of Light Side energy, she was further impressed. Despite her age, Arden could sense that she still had incredible stamina and could use Force Valor to enhance it when necessary.

_I like to use Force Valor as well, let's see if my application of it is great enough to beat hers when combined with Battlemind_ Arden thought silently. As she walked across the shipyards, she came across an old human woman with a double-sided lightsaber like Savage's at her belt. "Hermione Astin, I imagine?" Arden asked when she was in her hearing range. "Yes, I am she and who are you?" Hermione replied.

"My name is Arden Lyn, the Emperor's Hand and assassin chosen to orchestrate your death," Arden said. Hermione admitted that she had had visions of a warrior with an aura like Arden's bringing about her death though she never guessed it would be here. "Visions only reveal what will happen and who it will happen to, the Force does not care for location nearly as much," Arden stated calmly. "Perhaps you're right but you know, we do not have to fight: I sense a great Light still burning in you," Hermione said grimly.

"My Jedi father once thought as you do now but that was twenty-five thousand years ago and the Council that ruled in the First Schism made sure all hope was taken from us. Because of my father's attempt to stop my heart and my mastery of ancient Palawa techniques, I survived to this point. Tell me Jedi, do you really think there is hope for me to return to the Light in full even now?" Arden asked.

"Maybe not in full no, but close enough that you will earn closure on the sins of your past done by both you and by others: I sense that you will die a family woman," the old Jedi answered. Arden paled slightly for a moment and silently gasped in shock at the revelation Hermione threw at her. The premonition Arden had told of a young man with flowing shoulder-length black hair and a little girl. In the vision, the little girl had hair more like Arden's than the man and her eyes as well.

Could this be the vision of Arden Lyn's future family, a sign that at last she would be able to lay down her arms and have a normal human life? She almost stopped in her intent to kill Hermione and complete the mission that Lord Vader had ordered her to carry out. But she needed the information of lightsaber making and Vader was the only one who would give it to her freely. "Whether that comes to pass or not remains to be seen but now you must die," Arden said reluctantly.

"I would be lying if I said I didn't see this coming though I hoped it would be by the hand of someone like you," Hermione admitted. Arden attacked first with her skills in Jar'Kai and Hermione defended with both ends of her double-sided lightsaber. Her application of it combined with her Force Valor-enhanced application of Ataru with a single blade put up a hellish fight against Arden Lyn's skills. However, it was when Arden used her own Force Valor that the tide slowly began to turn to her favor rather than Hermione's.

"Your application of Light Side powers has impressed me thus far, are there any Dark Side powers I've yet to see?" Hermione asked. "Yes," Arden answered before then beginning her use of Battlemind in conjunction to the enhancing effects of Force Valor. Hermione did the best she could to keep up with her usage of Force Valor but her old age combined with her low endurance slowed her. Soon, it was all she could do to defend against the ferocity of Arden Lyn's lightsaber attacks without getting cut to pieces.

**Shira Brie was training herself** in the ways of the Force and concentrating her abilities in Telekinesis when Lord Vader's breathing disrupted her concentration. "You wished to see me, Master?" she asked immediately. "Yes, Arden Lyn has engaged Hermione Astin and I foresee it only being a matter of time before she destroys the hag," he answered. "Then the bargain is completed?" she inquired.

"Not quite yet, however, I will give you the chip with the information you need just in case the transaction is done. Return it to me, unaccessed, if she fails which I think you will sense now that you are immersed in the Force," he explained. Then he handed her the chip and she simply put it on the terminal she had in her room before turning her eyes back to Lord Vader. "You know Shira, the Emperor has seen your progress and is most impressed by how rapidly you have developed," he said.

_I can already tell this is going to affect Arden in some way for better or for worse_ Shira thought to herself quietly. "If it's not impolite to ask it of you Lord Vader, could you get to the point?" she asked aloud. "The Emperor is thinking of giving you the same rank he gave Arden Lyn. In addition, he is also thinking of training you himself if you say yes," he answered.

Shira was shocked, unbelieving that Palpatine would actually have an interest in training her himself. "Why would he be interested in me? He showed disgust when Arden asked him to examine my potential in the Force," she asked. "The Emperor tends to be hasty at times and, while right mostly, he was wrong about this one and has had a change of heart," he answered.

Shira knew that holding the Emperor's Hand title would mean more than anything she had dreamed of before. She wanted to wield a lightsaber and work for the Empire, she was being offered a chance to wield a lightsaber and work as one of the Emperor's left-hand agents. Only Vader would equal her and only the Emperor would be greater than her in the scheme of authority. But it was a title that Arden possessed and she knew that if Arden learned about this, it would be Shira's end.

"If it's not too much to ask, Lord Vader... I'd like to think about this. I need to get back to my training so perhaps, I'll think it over while meditating," Shira requested. "He knew you would say that, he fears that your attachment to Arden Lyn is already growing too great. To think it would happen after a little less than a month is impressive even by the standards of human beings," Vader replied.

"I will be the judge of my attachments to others, Lord Vader. That's not for you or the Emperor to decide, regardless of my servitude to you," Shira warned. Vader remained silent except for his breathing for several moments but when he spoke, his tone indicated annoyance at the teenager. "Be grateful that the Emperor's interest in you surpasses my ability to strangle you.

"That defiant attitude would get you nowhere except to an early grave and a crushed windpipe if he cared less about you. I will give you another a day to think about his offer unless he commands otherwise," Vader said before leaving her alone. After he left, Shira Brie did her best to get back to her training but found that it was impossible now that she had promised to think about his offer. It was all too enticing to let her focus go back on practicing basic telekinesis applications for Force training.

Heaving a massive sigh, Shira reflected on the course of her life though it was very short compared to most other servants of the Emperor. Since infancy, she had been trained in the ways of the assassin by many adepts of the Dark Side. Count Dooku had taught her about the intricacies of politics and finance, in addition to why Palpatine had to be gone most of the time. General Grievous had taught her some of the basics of military strategy and how to apply it to combat later on.

He had also taught her some basics of bladework and even gave her a vibroblade to practice with when he couldn't watch her. Though she never truly mastered the arts before the Clone Wars ended and Palpatine had moved her to chambers that she had to stay at for three years. When she returned, she had difficult time finding work in the Empire and was lucky to get a position at all. Let alone, one that would allow her some contact with the Emperor like the one she had had before.

But in all her years alive, she had learned to be lonely and how to love only herself since the closest thing to a father was never there half the time. And when he was, he was nothing but cruel to her and even somewhat tortuous in how he hardened her for later life. She didn't even have the social ability to desire boys when she hit puberty unlike other teenage girls her age. So disinterested was she, in fact, that when a boy advanced on her she only broke his arm for three weeks in response.

She was called a freak for having no interest in boys and was an outcast in regular school even to the principal of the institution. In her whole time, before meeting Arden Lyn, she had had only friend but that friend had not remained very long. She had given into the foolish desire to fit in after about four months and the two of them never spoke again. But for Shira, this was not a substantial loss like Palpatine had thought it would be but her relationship with Arden Lyn was different.

Unlike her equal-aged friend in regular secondary school, Arden was physiologically ten years older than Shira though more than wise enough from her true age to be like a mother to Shira. She had trained her in the art of Terras Kasi, honing in on her stature and giving her the Variant of the Assassin. Each time she stood next to the woman, Shira never needed to feel alone or keep her vigil of living without another soul in her life except for those that commanded her. For the first time in her life, Shira had found herself genuinely touched by someone else's involvement in her life to the point of caring.

In that moment, the implications of being an Emperor's Hand and the nail it would drive between Shira and Arden Lyn if the latter found out was overwhelming. Clenching a fist to the point of cutting into her palm, she tried her best to remain the stone-cold figure she knew herself to have been. But her feelings for Arden-were they love of a daughter-mother sort?- forced tears from out the back of her eyes for the first time since she was very young, little more than a toddler. She had never cared for anyone in her life beyond herself the way she cared for Arden now, fear of her rapidly maddening her.

The fear left her with nothing but weeping sorrow that she had come to care for another so much just as she was coming to the fulfillment of her lifetime dream. But it wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't see how it could come into conflict with Arden's belief in the uniqueness of her rank. Lower jaw trembling despite the closure of her lips, she decided to tend to her bleeding hand and think later. After all, it was best to think about these things on a cooler head than she possessed at present though she wondered if she ever would have a cool head to think about this before speaking with Arden.

**"Did she react to** the news as I anticipated?" Palpatine asked. "Yes but I sensed something else about her, something that might interest you," Vader answered. "What is it, my apprentice?" Palpatine inquired suspiciously. "I sensed that she had grown to genuinely care about Arden Lyn, perhaps even to the point of a sort of love for her," Vader explained. _So one of my assassins has grown soft over the presence of an elder woman in her life, I'll remedy that after Arden is no more_ Palpatine thought.

"She knows that Arden Lyn is the only one to date that holds the title of Emperor's Hand though I have been training others for it. Already, I have nominated Cronal and Roganda Ismaren to the position and await their acceptance of the nomination," he said aloud. "But they are already full-grown adults who are more than obliged to serve you even if it means taking that title unto themselves. Shira is merely a teenage-girl that you nominated because she could still be molded into one," Vader stated.

"Precisely the point of nominating her, Lord Vader. She is still too young to not be molded into something more than what she already is, the others have years of experience in their belt. There is still time to completely and permanently break her of any ability to care for someone," Palpatine countered. "But sir, if you do that to her at this age, she could go into a permanent state of psychosis triggered by loneliness," Vader warned.

"If she goes crazy after we break her, so be it. Even the insane are useful to me if they have potential talents such as Arden does," Palpatine snapped. _The lengths to which he'll go to get a powerful servant have never ceased to astound me_ Vader thought to himself silently. "So will there be any time beyond the day I have given her to decide if she accepts the nomination?" he asked aloud.

"Of course, she'll naturally want to wait until her beloved mother figure returns and explain the situation to her then. But then, at the last moment, she'll freeze and wait until it's too late for her to speak to Arden and the two of them are off on another mission. If the pattern is kept up, it could be a long time before she gets around to telling Arden about the nomination without killing her for talking. Better to at least postpone the inevitable revelation of another Emperor's Hand than to silence the one who'd tell if your subjects are still useful to your regime," Palpatine answered.

"All too easily, you have thwarted Arden's revelation and kept her as our slave without any bloodshed for the time-being," Vader said. "I have detailed files on the psychology of all different types of human personalities as well as other related and unrelated species. They can be borrowed if you wish to examine them for your own future endeavors, Lord Vader," Palpatine offered. "If I need them, I will be sure to request them of you milord but in the meantime, I am content," Vader replied.

"Very well then, is there anything else that you wish to bring to my attention?" Palpatine asked. "No sir, not at all," Vader answered. "Off you go then to bring me another dead Jedi, I left you a hitlist in your office to go on," Palpatine stated. Vader bowed and let his Master be to mediate and meditate on all that he planned to do to the galaxy, Shira Brie, and especially Arden Lyn.

**Hermione's wounds were too** deep and Arden knew that she was not going to last much longer. But she had fought a good long fight with Arden Lyn and outlasted being impaled in the chest by both of Arden's blades after she managed to outpace her saberstaff defense and attack techniques. Nevertheless, her well-earned endurance paid off and Arden watched with pity as she slowly died from the toll of the wounds on her old body. "You are a slave to the Emperor and his right-hand executioner but your power is wasted with them, escape while you can," Hermione begged.

"I have no choice, I have to believe that the Emperor will bring back the man I loved if I am to have any ability to keep fighting. It's all I have to hold onto, after all," Arden replied. "Poor girl, do you really think that the Emperor has the power to revive the dead? And even if he did, do you really think he will?" Hermione asked.

"I don't like it anymore than you do but I have to in order to keep fighting until my time comes," Arden answered. "That can't be all you aim for, I sense more to you than that. There's a little girl back at Coruscant with whom you have a bond, isn't there?" Hermione pressed. The old woman had done it, she had looked right into Arden's mind and seen Shira Brie who had been coming into Arden's mind more and more frequently.

It wasn't lesbian love that brought her to care for the girl, that much she figured out for herself. For the first time in her life, she found herself having to examine her relationship with that girl and perhaps even talk to her about it. "Her name, her whole name, Shira Elan Colla Brie though she goes by Shira or Shira Brie for short. She is but a teenager, no more than about fifteen and a half or sixteen years old," Arden admitted.

"Live for her, fight for her while you still have her. I once had a daughter too but now she will be lost to me forever," Hermione stated. And just when she made to say something else, hesitated, and closed her eyes. Then she pushed her back over the edge of the pit that she was standing by and Arden watched helplessly as she fell into the vacuum of space.

Arden knew Hermione would likely have died of the wounds if she hadn't done that but she wished the Jedi hadn't taken her own life. However, Arden was not so guilt-ridden by this development to be unable to collect the Jedi's fallen saberstaff before heading back to the ship. Even so, she knew she was going to need to think about Hermione's words as well as her own bond with Shira. It had taken them two weeks to catch Hoar and Thok in addition to the week that they met on.

They had known each other barely more than a month but their discussions had been deep, long, and even meaningful to each other. Shira was educated in the true history of the events surrounding the First Great Jedi Schism and Arden learned of Shira's pains. They struck a common bond, having been the oddballs of the people surrounding them even if for different reasons. But both had had a common anger towards people that, though born from different reasons, was sympathetic for them.

And as Shira continued to show improvement in her mastery of Terras Kasi's Variant of the Assassin, Arden found that she was also like her in that she had been a prodigy at a young age. However, the most important factor that had brought their bond to such a strong point was that they both had lived very lonely lives and could share this loneliness with one another even if others hated that. It would seem as though Arden had made the right choice in persuading Shira to become her first Terras Kasi student when she came to the sparring chamber on that fateful night of their meeting. Now this encounter with a Jedi had encouraged her to consider spending a little more time with Shira.

More than even the teenager was capable of knowing, she needed a mother figure to watch over her. With Arden, Shira had to know that she had a guardian angel who would watch over and protect her. Most importantly though, she needed to know that Arden would be able to say the words, "You are not alone", and genuinely mean it in times where Shira was hurting. This teenage stage that Shira was going through was the last time anyone was going to be able to make an impact on her.

For years to come if at all, one might add, and Arden knew that though it was too late for her it wasn't too late for this young child. But was it truly too late for Arden as she thought? Could acting as this child's foster mother and her guardian angel redeem her more than anything else? Would Shira Elan Colla Brie mark the beginning of Arden's chances at a normal human life at last? Only the Force knew that for certain and Arden vowed she would find out its will for them before the end of her life.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

"Jedi Master Hermione Astin, mother of Fable, is dead then?" Vader asked. "Yes, she will be troubling you no more, Lord Vader," Arden Lyn answered. "Her lightsaber," he requested tonelessly. Arden unclipped it from her belt and threw it at him, watching as he first stopped it with telekinesis then pulled it into his hand without even turning around to face her.

Igniting both ends, he held it out in front of him for a brief moment or two and spun it slightly before deactivating it once more. "You have done well, Arden Lyn. I have already handed Shira Brie the chip with the information she needs and now she is permitted access. Tell her that the code for unlocking the information, I had it locked while before you left, is 'Amidala'," he said after some silence.

A glimpse of a vision that Arden had at that word showed a woman with long braided hair, and pregnant, in pain and she wondered if it was something from Vader's past. However, she didn't bother to ask as she proceeded to leave though not before Vader stopped her one more time. "I have no more missions for you right now and the Emperor doesn't have any for you or Shira. Use this time off from service well," he stated.

She didn't know if he had glimpsed into her bond with Shira Brie or if he was just guessing but either way, it somewhat surprised her that he would say that. "I think we both intend to, Lord Vader. And I can say that with more than adequate confidence in myself and in her," she replied. _What the hell is he doing, talking about us anyway?_ she asked herself silently.

Arriving at her headquarters, she was surprised to see Shira Brie already waiting for her there. "Shira, what a surprise. I just came back from dealing with a Jedi named Hermione Astin," Arden began. "I know, Lord Vader bargained a Jedi life in exchange for the information; did you get the combination out of him?" Shira asked immediately.

Arden nodded and told her the code to which Shira laughed, something that prompted Arden's curiosity. "Amidala was the clan name of a woman he loved years ago and fell to the Dark Side in an attempt to supposedly save her from the future. She was pregnant with his child and he feared her death in childbirth, however, he was the one who killed her," Shira explained. "That explains the vision I had when he said the name Amidala of a pregnant woman being painfully killed by someone," Arden stated.

"Do you do that every time someone mentions a significant name?" Shira asked. "No, just when a name is mentioned that is familiar either to me or someone I know," Arden answered. "Well don't tell him I mentioned anything, I only know because the Emperor chose to tell me," Shira said. "Not to worry, we won't even be anywhere near him or the Emperor for the next few days or so," Arden said.

"What do you mean?" Shira demanded. "I think it's time we had a night or two on the town, explored the sights of Coruscant. Besides the Palace and the blocks around, I haven't seen much of Coruscant during my service to the Emperor," Arden explained. "You mean..." Shira began.

"Yes, it's time we explored and get some good views, maybe even some shopping. Isn't shopping normal for girls?" Arden teased with a smile. "Yes of course, except that I myself have never been shopping before in my life," Shira replied.

"Neither have I, it'll be a new experience for the both of us," Arden retorted, giggling. "Can we go see the operas that the Emperor is a fan of?" Shira asked. "Why not? So long as we have the time. I believe we can squeeze that into our schedule," Arden answered.

"Then what are we waiting for then, let's get some credits and get going!" Shira exclaimed. Arden smiled and managed to withdraw two thousand credits from the payments that both of them received from the missions they had went on though their total was double that. "This should be enough for a week of travel if we budget the credits just right," Arden said. "Excellent, let's go shopping now," Shira replied.

**"Arden and Shira did** _what_!?" Hoar asked. "They went shopping and seeing the sights, just like normal Human girls," Thok answered. "I will never understand humans and why they do the things they do," Hoar stated. "Well maybe we should get some practice in on our techniques while we await their return," Thok suggested.

Since being captured by Arden and Shira last month, Thok had been practicing the Variant of the Rancor whilst Hoar practiced the Variant of the Snake. Both were excellent techniques and Hoar showed the speedy, fluid movements, while Thok was brutal and strong in his own technique. "I don't see why not, it would be what she would want us to do," Hoar said, shrugging in acceptance. The two aliens walked off from their quarters and set up a session of sparring in the chambers of their practice.

"Do you ever wonder why it is that Arden Lyn acts like a normal human whenever she's around Shira and not us?" Thok inquired. "Not really: as I told you before, I can never understand why humans act the way they do around each other. That is, except when they're violent towards each other as I've seen it amongst my people as well," Hoar explained. "It seems that that is the way of things even for the most humanoid alien species: never understanding humans without being around them for a while," Thok agreed.

"I'm glad I found you two here when I did," said the voice of Lord Vader suddenly. "Lord Vader, what a surprise!" they simultaneously exclaimed. "I have a mission for the two of you that you can attend to while your Mistress is seeing the sights with Shira Brie. When either of you get a chance, there is a senator from Cato Neimoidia that is demanding more than he deserves in profits.

"I need the two of you to track him down and silence him with your martial arts and any other techniques that you know," Vader explained bluntly. "Neimoidians, even in the Clone Wars they were the more talkative of the non-humanoid aliens," Hoar said. "We'll clobber this guy before you can say 'I want supper', what vital statistics do we need on this guy?" Thok asked. "Only that he holds very little security around him, preferring to let his wealth say more about his power.

"But when he does have bodyguards around, they're usually hired men that end up doing shabby jobs. That and he likes the party life so you will need to look in every bar that you can find to see him except for the slummy ones. He prefers the high life even when he goes to the bars for a drink and maybe a couple women," Vader answered. "Very well, let's see if we can find this guy and beat him up big time," Thok said.

"I have already downloaded a picture of him into your datapads so that you don't go randomly beating Neimoidians when you arrive. Remember this also, if possible just scare him into submission of my demands but if not, kill him. He'd be a loose end if he does not accept the offers that the Emperor and I have both extended to him," Vader stated. Hoar and Thok nodded, asking if a ship was ready to which Lord Vader said that one was ready for them.

**By the time the Emperor** heard the news that Arden Lyn and Shira Brie had gone to see the sights, he had already added six servants to the rank Emperor's Hand. None of them knew of each other and Arden Lyn would not know of their existence either. So far Sarcev Quest, Cronal, Roganda Ismaren, Mara Jade, Aralina Salik, and Jallar Grolin were the six hired nominees. Others that he had considered were Jeng Droga, Sa Cuis, Sheyvan, and Vess Kogo who he still was considering.

Inquisitor Tremayne had also put in a request to be nominated as an Emperor's Hand although Palpatine felt that he was still useful as just an Inquisitor. Though he still turned him down, Palpatine had a feeling that maybe Maarek Stele would be useful in this area as well. However, the only reason he had any doubts was because Stele was already an Emperor's Reach which parallel to a Hand. Stele was ambitious and giving him too much power might have meant dooming himself and Vader for overthrow.

However, the Emperor tossed these thoughts into the deepest and darkest pits of his mind when he heard about what Arden Lyn and Shira Brie had done. "There had better be a good explanation for this!" he hissed. "Arden told me she wanted to spend some time alone with Shira, seeing the sights of the planet since she has yet to do it," Vader said. "Very well, but immediately assign them to a mission with those alien men Hoar and Thok so that this distraction never arises in them again!" Palpatine ordered.

He didn't want Shira giving into the temptation to reveal his offer to Arden which would be a catastrophe. When Arden found out, she would immediately suspect that she wasn't the only Emperor's Hand and possibly defect from the Empire. He couldn't afford to lose Arden's abilities, not now when he still had so much that she would need to do for him and under him. "Not all is lost milord, Arden said she would check back periodically and that they would be back in at least a week or so," Vader said.

"Foolish man, by then Shira might have told her everything! Halt this little expedition now, I have a mission for them!" Palpatine ordered. He would not let Shira jeopardize his ability to use Arden Lyn as his pawn for her own pathetic gains. And luckily, Inquisitor Tremayne was immediate to answer as well as bring some stormtroopers with him just incase Arden got a little uncooperative.

**"What sights, what beauty!"** Arden exclaimed. "I've seen a little bit of this before but never in such glorious detail as this!" Shira admitted. Already the girls had been through several malls and had made purchases with which they were satisfied. These included mechanical supplies to prepare Shira's lightsaber as well as several fashion trends they hoped to try when they weren't in combat.

But the reason for their current admiration was the lighting of the Opera house that Palpatine had claimed having a fancy for. "The story they're trying to tell is a little skewed but the visuals are grand," Arden stated. "Indeed but I think most stories are skewed by the visuals anyway, regardless of how good it is," Shira agreed.

Just then, the door to their box was knocked on and Shira decided to answer while Arden remained gawking at the sights. "Shira Brie, Arden Lyn, the Emperor wants you and he wants you back at the Palace right now!" Tremayne hissed next to them. "So he's angry that we went on a little spree when we didn't have anything to do, whoopie-fucking-do," Arden replied. "Your defiance will cost you dearly if you do not come with me now and back to the Emperor's Throne for you mission," he warned.

Five years later...

Governors, rogue senators, pirates, smugglers, even rogue Dark Side cults fell before the might of Arden Lyn and her team of Terras Kasi students. But this latest threat was different, it was a branch of the Followers of Palawa that had extended outside of Bunduki to stake their own claim. However, they had come into contact with the Prophets of the Dark Side who demanded their heads now. "Wouldn't it be easier to have Thok and Hoar lead the rest of the students into surrounding this new enemy and stalling them while we kill the leaders of this group?" Shira Brie asked.  
"It would if it weren't for the fact that the Followers of Palawa are gifted in the ways of the Force as well as guarding against telepathic attacks based on it. They also have a really incredible talent for war strategy and would suspect such a trap right off the bat," Arden answered. Five years of combat experience had hardened them to the pain of suffering of others but never to each other. Since the fateful day when the girls had attempted to be normal five years ago, their relationship had improved.

As time passed by, it was becoming more and more common for Arden to call Shira "Little Wolf" while Shira called her "Mama Bear" in private. "Then what do you suggest we do, Mama Bear?" Shira asked. Arden thought about that carefully, scanning the fortress that this splinter group of the Followers had holed themselves up in. That was when she observed open moats that her other students, including Hoar and Thok, could use to the advantage of the team.

"Have Hoar and Thok take half of the other students and fill up those two open moats over there. The stench will drive out those who can't stand the smell, let alone any poisonous fumes that they may emit. Once that's done, the ones that remain are the ones that we attack when we go in head-on," she answered. "So I suggest gasmasks for everyone if that's going to be the case: even if they can't ward off the smell, they can ward off the worst of the aerial poisons," Shira replied.

"Good idea, Little Wolf. Have Hoar and Thok make sure that everyone is wearing masks just in case there's anything toxic after they fill up the moats. They're to do the deed by any means that they can find, even if they have to risk swimming in the sewages for a time or two," Arden requested. Shira typed a code into her wrist comlink which she explained as doing precisely that through beeps. "Good, let's hope that Thok and Hoar actually obey orders this time; don't want another Geonosis," Arden said.

Geonosis had been the worst mission for the whole team in the history of their five-year career. Two years ago, a cousin of CIS leader Poggle the Lesser had risen to take his place and was inciting mutiny amongst his fellow Geonosians. The plan to stop had been to infiltrate his ranks as quietly and as efficiently as possible with little to no killing wherever possible. But Thok and Hoar were both used to so much killing that when they went on another spree, they compromised that plan for the whole team.

Out of the original thirty-four that had joined the team at that point, only fifteen had survived to tell the tale though they managed to assassinate the rebellious Geonosian anyway. Since then, their numbers had not only bounced back but also doubled with another twelve soon to join the ranks. During all fives years, Arden Lyn and Shira Brie remained supreme commanders of the team of Terras Kasi-wielding Force-sensitives capable of excellent things even without other weapons than their hands. "How's your hand healing from that?" Shira asked.

During her assassination of Poggle's cousin, Arden had burned her hand in one of the smelting pots that helped create blasters of all kind having used the Variant of Anger. However, the burns were not severe nor was her hand permanently mangled in anyway though some scars remained. She had even had her first bad case of arthritis in her hand since it caused pain to move it for months afterwards. "There isn't the pain that comes from moving my hand anymore, that's for sure," Arden answered quietly.

"That's good, look! Hoar and Thok are actually trying to be stealthy for once," Shira said, pointing to where she was looking in order to get Arden's attention. Sure enough, to Arden's surprise, they were indeed trying to be stealthy and were doing a surprisingly good job of it. When they arrived at the moats, they found it easy to break several of the controls and cause the floodgates to close instantly. "Okay, we got the moats closed: it'll just a matter of time before we flush out the sissies we don't want and kill the rest inside, over and out," Thok said into Shira's comlink.

"Copy that, Pigman. Over and out," Shira retorted. Arden laughed slightly and quietly at that, unbelieving that five years of the Gamorrean complaining about being called that hadn't deterred Shira. "One of these days, he's going to challenge you to a rematch of the duel you two first had or worse," Arden teased. "Right and when that day happens, my ass is the size of his fist," Shira joked.

"What the hell?" Arden asked confused. Then she recalled that Shira had always had a tomboyish build and as a result, had small breasts and a small buttocks. Shaking her head, she understood immediately that Shira was just trying to ridicule Thok further behind his back. "One of these days Shira, one of these days..." Arden said, drifting off as she quietly laughed.

"How long before the moats do their part?" Shira asked. "Shouldn't be more than a standard hour or two for the weaklings to decide to leave. One and a half at the most before they're all crowding to get out first," Arden answered. "Great, now all we gotta do is sit back and play the waiting game we're already going to win anyway," Shira stated.

"I know you hate having to wait almost as much as Hoar and Thok do but it does pay to be patient, Little Wolf. Trust me," Arden said. Shira shrugged though she did manage to wait out the hour and twenty-four minutes before the soldiers of the Followers were beating a hasty retreat. "So they didn't like our little present, too bad they can't return it," Shira joked.

Arden chuckled and asked Shira to order Hoar and Thok to have the students incite some terror into the people at the back of the retreating masses. "Gives the front ones more incentive to get out faster than they already are," Arden added. Shira delivered the orders and soon, they bore witness to the soldiers at the front being trampled by the more terrified ones at the back of the crowd. "Good, now our part begins; come with me, Little Wolf," Arden said as she ignited both her lightsabers.

Following behind, Shira had ignited her own black-bladed saber as she followed Arden into the fray of the battle that their other team members had already started. Immediately, Arden began hacking down people with her Jar'Kai and Ataru skills upon arriving to the front of the fortress. Meanwhile, Shira cleaned up those she missed with Shii-Cho, Shien, and some Juyo when it was necessary. Both would sometimes fall back into Soresu in order to deflect the blaster bolts but would continue hacking.

When it was over, the priests who had led the splinter group of Followers of Palawa were exposed and vulnerable to the attack of people who were mostly in the prime of their youth. "It's over Priests, surrender now and spare yourselves the humiliation of defeat by people that know your ways. Terras Kasi has betrayed you twelve because they now belong to us sixty-eight," Arden warned them. "Even with your numbers and your ancient age, Arden Lyn, we will put up a valiant fight before we fall and that is a promise," the leader replied.

"I'm counting on it, Follower of Palawa and my students are begging for it," Arden retorted. Then the students unleashed their potential upon the other eleven priests with many wielding the Variant of the Assassin like Shira or the Variant of the Rancor like Thok. But for the leader, Arden decided to show him her might in the Variant of Anger, the very tactic all like him feared most in their own styles. "I sense great tragedy and pain within you Arden Lyn, please let me help you," the priest asked her.

"Your ancestors made a similar offer to me once but they betrayed me and my husband Xendor when they took money from the Jedi in exchange for information about our locations. I need no help from a child of Palawa who flees from Bunduki to go about his own way!" she hissed at him. She defeated him with relative ease after that by breaking his skull and denting his ribcage severely. However, even as he lied dying before her, it still seemed as though he wanted to remedy her pains and relieve her suffering.

But she quickly snapped his neck with a boot, finishing him off once and for all. "That was an easy enough mission, the Emperor's beginning to run out of ideas for us since the Death Star blew up. Are we to be the first subjects of his anger or something like that?" Hoar asked. "No, he's just too busy to give us anything other than this, that's why he trusts the Prophets to assign us," Arden answered.

"She does have a point there, Thok. Kadann has been giving us some real biggies and the credits to go with, after all," Hoar pointed out. "Thank you, now if no one else has any suggestions for what to take from this temple, we are done here," Arden stated. No one did and they walked out with their two-hundred and thirty-seventh mission as a team completed with relative ease once again.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

Five years had gone by since Shira Brie had been made the offer to be an Emperor's Hand. Though she requested to settle for being a Shadow Hand of Lord Vader when she wasn't with Arden, she had a feeling the offer was still open especially now that she had shown true potential. Her black lightsaber was one of the most well known in the Emperor's service and one of the most feared. Combined with Arden Lyn's green and orange lightsaber, anyone who would have attacked the Emperor and threatened him before didn't stand a chance.

Now, alone again, Shira began to ponder the implications of the offer which was something she thought would get easier with time. In truth, now that she began considering it once more, it was even harder than the first time she considered it. Within five years since their first meeting and their attempts to be normal human women, Shira had grown more accustomed to viewing Arden as a mother figure. Whenever she was not around the other students, Arden and Shira had done their best to satisfy their more feminine impulses such as shopping and telling jokes about men.

And in those five years of service, they had shared more stories from their past lives than they had in the first month of their meeting. But as was expected to have happened, nothing was the same after their first attempt to be normal human women, the service had hardened them both. However, there was something else that Shira noticed in Arden, something a little more subtle than that. As time slowly drifted by, she noticed that the woman she called mother was starting to wither away inside.

As she day passed, it seemed as though Arden was becoming less inclined to serve the Empire and more inclined to serve her own aims, perhaps even rebel against the Emperor. And if she was aiming for that and the Emperor found out, would Shira be asked to stop her along with the others? Would she be able to turn on the closest thing to a mother she had ever had in her life solely because her affiliation and her loyalty didn't lie with the Emperor? Or would she forsake all her dreams and all she had worked for to save her from the wrath of the man who overruled them all others in the Empire?

Once again, thinking about becoming the Emperor's Hand stirred these sorts of thoughts within her and these thoughts stirred her eyes to tears. She just couldn't find it in her heart to say yes or no to the offer without revealing it to Arden and that was not something she wanted to do either. Despite the motherly affection she had towards Shira, Arden did sometimes get a little ill-tempered and jealous. Additionally in this case, she'd be right to do so since she thought she was the only one with this rank for five years.

One of the worst things about it was that Shira suspected that by now, she must surely not be the only one who had the offer extended to her, it just wasn't how the Emperor worked. He had surely extended it to people more inclined to take it than she was, all of who had certainly grabbed it. Shaking her head to get her focus back on to the subject of telling Arden, Shira decided that it was best to do it. She didn't care what the Emperor said about familial bonds like hers with Arden Lyn, she had to inform Arden of this revelation... the time had come.

**Arden Lyn was meditating** for the first time in fourteen months, the longest she had gone without some kind of nourishment thanks to her long hibernation periods. Already, she had been meditating for nearly an hour and a half when she sensed a disturbance like none she had sensed before. It surrounded Shira, her Little Wolf, and from the look of it she was conflicted and sad with paining her inside. Soon after sensing this, Little Wolf arrived and she told her to enter when she knocked on her door lightly.

"Mama Bear, I have to talk to you about something. Something I've been meaning to tell you for years now but have only recently worked up the courage to tell you," Shira said immediately. "Well, I am certainly glad that you got to the point as to what was bothering you," Arden said smiling. "Yes but I don't think you're going to like what I have to say as it concerns the Emperor," Shira replied.

"I'm listening," Arden said. She had never liked the Emperor in all her years of service but she had had to believe that he would complete his offer in return for her service. "Five years ago, before you returned from killing Hermione Astin, Lord Vader came to me and extended an offer from the Emperor. The offer... was to become an Emperor's Hand like you," Shira said, wasting no time at all.

"And you never told me this because?" Arden asked. "Because I feared what you would do to me if I told you and what it would mean for the dreams I still have. The dreams that involve serving the Emperor... look Arden, I love you as the mother I never had and I wouldn't want to hurt-!" Shira said. "Say no more Shira: it isn't your fault that I allowed the Emperor and Lord Vader to use me as their toy all these years, it's mine," Arden replied.

"So you aren't mad with me?" Shira asked, beggingly. "Of course not, Little Wolf. If you want to take his offer, go for it; just understand that I have been planning to phase out anyway," Arden said. "What do you mean?" Shira inquired.

"Over the years of my servitude to the Emperor, I have slowly come to realize that he is slippery as a snake and would never complete his end of the offer that enticed me to him. Initially, I called him out on a bluff but when he said that he could and had resurrected the dead, I was hooked. I had hoped that he would resurrect my husband Xendor, I foolishly let him play with my love for that man. Now, he means to use the rank he bestowed me to turn you against me but it won't work," Arden explained.

Shira sighed a heavy sigh of relief and Arden placed a hand on her face, telling her not to worry. "If you truly wish to be this close in servitude to the Emperor, I understand. As far as I can tell from the stories of your life, you don't have anywhere else to go anyway," she added. "Thank you Mama Bear but tell me, what are you going to do now that you know what I've told you?" Shira asked.

"I'll not say a word of it to the Emperor or to Lord Vader that's for sure. He'll think I'll be complying and since the Death Star was destroyed six months ago, he needs people to hunt Rebels. Especially the boy who destroyed the Death Star, the one called Skywalker I might add. I'll use whatever power he gives me when I offer my resources to finding him to go rogue," Arden answered.

"He wouldn't have the damnedest clue and would assume you failed, I like it. Definitely is far more cunning than going to him in a storm," Shira admitted. "And far more likely to succeed in its intent," Arden agreed. "Then May the Force be with you Mama Bear, I will miss you," Shira stated.

The two women embraced, knowing this was probably going to be the last time they would see each other. Arden told Shira that she notify the Emperor that she agreed to his offer, if it was still open, and leave her to pack up what few provisions she had for her subtle departure. "Yes I should, thank you for everything Arden," Shira stated. "Hey, before you go, I want you to have something to remember me by," Arden said.

Before Shira could ask what it was, Arden took out an amulet that she had bought in one of the shopping sprees and handed it to Arden. It was a chain necklace with a large ruby-like jewel as the main attraction and looked beautiful on Shira even after her extensive damage during the Yavin 4 battle. "Remember me through this, remember the good times we had and the missions that we underwent. Never lose sight of who you are and always know that if ever I were to have children of my own, I would want them to be like you," Arden said.

Shira surprised her old Mistress with one last hug before heading off to inform the Emperor of her acceptance of his offer. Arden watched as she left and in some ways, felt like it was watching a real daughter born of her blood walk off into the unknown. I doubt I'll ever meet another like her before I die Arden thought silently. Returning to her sparring sessions, she decided to practice the Variant of Anger for the first time in a long while; she'd need it if she was going to go rogue on her pupils.

Two and a half years later...

"There is a great disturbance in the Force," Emperor Palpatine stated. "I have felt it," Lord Vader admitted. "We have a new enemy: the young rebel who destroyed the Death Star. I have no doubt that this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker," Palpatine said. And it was true: for days, he had been trying to decipher how it was possible for one Rebel pilot to destroy the Death Star.

In the end, due to all the other pilots perishing during the battle, he concluded that it was because the boy was gifted with the Force. But even then, he observed that the only person with capabilities remotely as great as that feat was Lord Vader himself. "How is this possible?" Lord Vader asked. "Search your feelings Lord Vader, you will know it to be true. He could destroy us," Palpatine answered.

This was no lie, Palpatine had done the same in his own attempts to decipher the possibilities as to how such a boy could have done it. "He's just a boy, Obi-Wan can no longer help him," Vader replied. _So he did receive training for the late Obi-Wan Kenobi. That may also explain why he had such abilities in the Force_ Palpatine thought but didn't say as he continued.

"The Force is strong with him, the son of Skywalker mustn't become a Jedi," he warned aloud. "If he could be turned, he could become a powerful ally," Vader suggested. _Hmm, two Skywalkers if Vader succeeds and returns alive but one if he succeeds and doesn't. Either way, I emerge victorious in fully destroying the Jedi Order should Luke succum_b Palpatine observed gleefully.

"Yes, yes, he would be a great asset. Can it be done?" he asked. He needed to know for certain if he could be done: if Luke didn't fall but Vader perished, he would surely lose out. "He will join us or die, Master," Vader answered before cutting transmission. _It does not matter in the end, there are only a couple ways I could lose on something as grand as this_ Palpatine said to himself.

"Does one of them include me bringing the young pilot Skywalker to you before Vader can?" a familiar voice asked. Sidious turned to see Arden Lyn and was surprised that she had peered into his thoughts and voiced them aloud. "No Arden, I don't see how that would be one of them," he replied. "Then let me have a chance to corrupt Skywalker, unlike Vader I know how to delve deep into the inner conflict of someone in order to destroy them from within," she suggested.

The Emperor knew there was no lie in this statement, bold as it was for indeed, she did have to learn that early on in her career as his Hand. "And if I say yes?" he asked, suspicious of her sudden inclination to do this. "Then I will never rest or return until I have corrupted him or I have his head," she answered. "And if I say no?" he inquired.

"I'm a patient woman and I'm very persuasive too, you will break and say yes even if you say no now," she explained. This response humored Sidious and triggered one of his famous cackles of joy at hearing the sadism in her warning. "Very well then, I permit you to hunt Skywalker on my behalf but be careful of Lord Vader while you're at it," he said. _I should have the other Hands do this similar thing as well_ he thought but didn't say aloud.

"I will return, Master," she said with a bow, turning to leave after that. But before reaching the exit, she stopped and asked him a question that completely off guard. "You never intended to complete your end of our original bargain, did you?" she asked. He had not anticipated this question but he should have expected her to have had doubts after peering into his thoughts as she had on her entry.

Because she could very easily gaze into his mind and there was no getting around it anyway, he decided the best thing to do was be honest with her. Honesty was such a hated virtue amongst the Sith, it always undid them with its bright burning light more than the Death Star could ever destroy a planet. "Guilty as charged," he said, spitting every single word out like poison. "Just as I thought but no matter, maybe I can persuade you after I bring the boy's head to you or something like that," she retorted.

And then, just as stealthily and speedily as she had appeared, she was gone once more. He was getting used to these subtle entrances and exits but he doubted he would be seeing the former again. Not after what he had just confessed to her about not aiming to complete his end of their bargain, that she would serve him in exchange for the resurrection of Xendor at the end of the service. In fact, when he was forced to reveal it, he suspected that she had also seen his original intent: to destroy her instead.

Seven and a half years had gone by since the day that he had originally recruited her and he was glad that she had not recognized his deception until now. In that time, Arden had taken out several rogue Jedi, governors conspiring against the Empires, and assassins that had turned on the Emperor. She had not had contact with Shira Brie or any of her pupils in three years since their full graduation and their reassignment to other locations. Still, even now that all this was under her belt and his, he had the feeling that he could have used her powers for so much more when it seemed he wouldn't.

But it was too late to change anything that she had done under him and if she did go rogue now, she had been most useful. Perhaps, this was better and then perhaps not, the will of the Force was the only thing that would reveal that to him for certain. "Now where were we?" he asked Xizor, the Falleen leader of Black Sun, when he reappeared from the shadows. At first, Xizor made to inform him of something concerning Arden Lyn but then he kept his mouth shut and they proceeded with business.

**Admiral Zaarin was almost** ready for his ultimate goal, the TIE fighter models turning out better than ever he had imagined. His son, Paris, helped him sometimes but the younger man preferred to groom his shoulder-length black hair and bed beautiful women than help his old man with ships. Brilliant as he was, Demetrius had to admit that he was somewhat disappointed in Paris' personal preferences. Not that he was any different when he was in his teenage years but he had grown past it by the time he turned twenty-two, Paris was almost thirty and still preferred it over engineering new weapons.

Nonetheless, he knew he could count on Paris to side with him once he was ready for his ultimate goal: dethroning Palpatine and destroying Vader in the process. At most, he would only need to wait another six months or so then he would strike with vengeance and fury against his enemies. And he had just the targets for that job to be pulled off as well, all of them major and essential to the Empire. But still, even with this, he felt like something was missing and it was something that he knew would be vital for the defeat of the Emperor: a Force-sensitive whose power was at least on par with him.

Few could ever hope to best the Emperor and all of them were already under his service to the best of Zaarin's knowledge. "Send for Paris, I think I need him to find a certain someone that he would be capable of seducing to my cause," Demetrius asked one of his subordinates. "Is that really wise, Admiral? Asking your son to use his viper charm to persuade a Force-sensitive to join us?" the subordinate asked.

"If we're going to fight the Emperor, we need someone who can counter his silly Force magic with more of it. Have him fetch me any in Palpatine's service who goes rogue as soon as it is revealed," Zaarin answered. "Yes Admiral, shall I follow the news on attacks concerning Force-sensitives?" the subordinate inquired. "Do that, it's the only way we'll know for certain about anything," Zaarin ordered with a nod.

The subordinate bowed and made to obey his orders as well as have his son ready to use that viper tongue of his to charm them into service. What he wondered though was what would happen if the Force-sensitive he needed turned out to be a man? Would his son be able to improvise around it after so much practice with women or would he discomfort the warrior to the point of appearing gay? Only time and possibly the will of the Force, ludicrous as such a thing sounded to him, would tell.

Arden had set her destination for Tython in her own personal shuttle but not before sensing Hoar boarding with her. It had been a while since one of her students had accompanied her anywhere and the last one to do so had been Shira Brie, eight months ago. Since then, the girl had become busy as a Shadow Hand of Vader and a Hand of the Emperor himself. "What brings you back into my fold, Hoar?" Arden asked immediately.

"I know what you intend to do, I overheard your conversation with Palpatine. But I'm not here to stop you, I'm here to come with you if you would have me," he answered. "What happened with traveling with Thok?" she inquired. "I don't owe a life-debt to him as I do with you and besides, he went splitsville after he took an offer made to him by Jabba the Hutt and Palpatine approved," he said.

_Figures that Pigman would leave me at the first chance he would obtain with the Emperor's stamp_ she thought. "And the other students?" she continued. "You know as well as I do what happened to them: they went to serve Vader and the Emperor like Shira Brie did. If not that, either they've defected to the Rebels or else have been killed in the line of duty since Yavin 4," he replied.

Shrugging, she had to admit that he was right and that she wasn't surprised if that was what had happened to most of her other students. "If you already know my intent then you should know that if you follow me, there's no turning back," she warned. "Trust me woman, if I wanted to stay and help fommel the Emperor's balls any longer like Vader then I'd have cleared that with you first," he retorted. Laughing lightly, Arden had to admit that she knew that to be true about the disgraced Tusken Raider that followed her everywhere whenever he could.

"In that case, strap in and prepare for lightspeed the moment we're cleared out of this spaceport. We'll be headed to Bunduki first where I've got some old business to settle first and then to Tython, ancient home of the Jedi," she said after silence. "Going back to the home of the Palawa priests to settle your old scores with them, I take it?" he asked. "You know me all too well, Sand Person," she answered with a smile.

"Good, now that means I get some real killing which I haven't gotten since that mission we did for the Prophets against the splinter group of Followers of Palawa," he stated. "Don't get me started on any of our old missions, the nostalgia is distracting," she replied. Chuckling, he admitted that she might be right in that point and made sure that Arden had said all her goodbyes to everyone she could. "I could only reach Shira and she had to leave for a mission as a Shadow Hand soon after that," she said.

"Then what are you waiting for? Take off already!" he exclaimed. And that was just what Arden did after taking one last look around her, soaking in the sights of the Imperial life that was hers once. However, Arden found that she was right about nostalgia becoming distracting to her ability to break off the chains that bound her life. Had it already been so long since she had awoken from the meditation that she had gone to in her grief for Depa and even longer since she had helplessly watched her die?

Shaking her head, she prepared the ship for hyperspace and watched as the stars illuminated the entirety of the glass port with bright white light. Hoar sat back and even began to sleep while she traveled which she found extremely interesting considering that she had never seen him sleep anywhere. She herself had never fully slept since she had awoken from her first hibernation and frankly, she had never really needed to sleep as much as normal people did. Meditation had supplemented her whenever she needed rest but she just found it very funny that she had never really needed it.

This was especially true since the vision of the man with black hair and the girl that looked like Arden herself had been growing stronger with the years that had come, indicating occurrence to come.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

For years, the Followers of Palawa had been troubling the Dark Jedi named Yun especially since their refusal to teach him Terras Kasi. His father had also been disappointed by this development and approved the motion for his son to take a few squads of stormtroopers to teach them a lesson. The lesson, they hoped would be one that made them understanding that no one denied Yun or his father. Unfortunately, the old man had not lived to see his son attempt their revenge for Yun had been asked to sacrifice him as a price to pay for the Dark Side by his love: the Prophetess Sariss.

But sacrificing aside, he smiled because he knew that even if he had been the one to kill him, his father would have been pleased to see his revenge against the Palawa fulfilled after many long years. When he arrived, as anticipated, an emissary of the priests was there with his own squads to intercept the Dark Jedi right at the gates of the Palawa fortress on Bunduki. "I have come back with armed forces, as I promised I would, and I warn the priests of Palawa one last time. Either permit me training in the martial arts known as Terras Kasi or prepared to be destroyed," Yun warned threateningly.

The emissary looked somewhat intimidated though his troops pulled that off better than he did. He raised a hand to demand their silence and thought about how he would reply to the threat made by the Dark Jedi. Then he replied, knowing what the priests would say to him if they had been here in his place to face down the young man. "And I tell _you_ one last time that the priests' orders are official and cannot be changed: you will never receive training so long as they command it," he said.

"Very well, tell the masters to prepare for their fortress to be stormed within the next two standard hours or so. I will have my revenge for the dishonor they have done me by refusing to grant me training," Yun replied. "The priests do not fear your vengeance, they only pity that you are little more than a spoiled brat in a man's body," the emissary retorted before marching back to the fortress. Yun laughed at the comment about being spoiled and he had to admit that he had been indulged by his father.

Soon, the fight for vengeance would be on though and the comment of a single messenger of the priests. "Sir, with due respect, shouldn't we bring in another Dark Jedi like maybe Sariss or her Master Jerec to aid us in this matter?" the lieutenant with him asked. "This is my personal matter and mine alone to resolve, Jerec and Sariss would not aid me even if I begged on my knees," Yun answered.

_Besides that, Sariss would never forgive me for asking for her help on the matter anyway. And boy would Jerec hate me if I asked him to help me in this mission as well_ Yun added to himself. The lieutenant nodded though he probably still didn't see why Yun couldn't call on them for help even after the boy's explanation. He didn't need to at any rate, all he needed to do was follow orders as was his job to do in these sorts of situations.

**Arden Lyn had come** to Bunduki to make her statement, that she had had enough of Palpatine and was going to go rogue in accordance to that attitude. Arriving at a moat entrance to the fortress of the Palawa, she was surprised to see that the tunnels hadn't changed since last she went through them. Nonetheless, she had a feeling that the Followers of Palawa would sense her presence when she came closer to finding their leaders who had betrayed her all those years ago. Most Palawa were Force-attuned at least to the extent that they could wield some of the basic abilities anyhow.

Few, the priests being amongst them, could wield any arcane abilities and that was not a problem for Arden Lyn. In fact, it was an advantage that she would be exploiting in her quest to gain revenge against the Followers of Palawa and her declaration of defection from the Galactic Empire. Smiling, she was glad that she had received the training she required to be a Jedi Sentinel before arriving to the Temple though her more powerful abilities wouldn't be granted until she discovered Bogan. _Xendor, I promise that the Followers of Palawa will pay for their betrayal of you and me at long last_ she vowed silently as the first disciples began making their way in her direction.

"Step aside or be struck down, pawns of the Priests of Palawa," Arden warned when they positioned themselves for a fight. "We cannot let you anywhere near the priests woman unless there's a good reason why you're coming," one of them warned. "The priests you served betrayed me and my husband, long ago by giving the locations of our bases to the Jedi for money. Do not lecture me about having a good reason to see them, I am here to wipe them away from the galaxy forever," she said.

"Whoever you are, we will have to fight you now that we know you are a threat," the lead student replied. Arden dispatched him with ease by shooting a projectile of Force energy from her mechanical hand, powerful enough to blast a hole that almost spanned the side-side width of his chest. Then she turned to the other students that attacked her and cut one down with one of her sabers after dodging a punch she threw at her. She concluded her attack on another student who tried to roundhouse kick her only to have his leg severed before she decapitated him.

After that, she was virtually unopposed throughout the rest of the moats though she knew that that luck wouldn't remain for long. But she never guessed what lied ahead: Imperial stormtroopers attacking the disciples of the Followers of Palawa as they tried to defend against it. Despite their applications of Force barrier and Tutaminis, however, their defenses were broken with ease. The martial arts was all they had and though they killed several stormtroopers, none would survive much longer.

But when both sides saw Arden Lyn enter the fray, neither knew what to expect her to do. However, Arden did and showed as such when she withdrew both lightsabers and attacked both sides of soldiers. "Mayday, mayday, Commander Yun! Come in, we're under heavy attack from the Emperor's Hand Arden Lyn, over!" a stormtrooper exclaimed.

He tried to relay another signal just in time for Arden to hack him to pieces with her blades before continuing to make her way towards the priests she had a score to settle with. But she sensed the presence of a Dark Jedi amongst the Imperials, not powerful like her but had potential nonetheless. She knew it was only a matter of time before their paths crossed and she hoped to spare him, not kill him. After all, despite her inability to be bound by the Jedi Code, it was dishonorable to her to kill someone weaker than herself if she could avoid it especially like this gentleman she sensed approaching.

_Still, if it's a whooping he wants then I'll be glad to give him one when he faces me in combat_ she added to herself silently. She kept attacking disciples and stormtroopers until it became clear that she would not be associated with either one of them. Then she decided to turn her attention to her true targets, the Priests that commanded the Followers of Palawa and the subject of her revenge. Using the Force to sense them out, she found that she needed to go to the same place that she had gone before to seek an audience with them: the top of the citadel's tallest tower in the center of the fortress.

**"Yun has returned** with vengeance just as he promised he would," the emissary said when he finally arrived to see his Masters. Ten priests there were in all with their nominated seconds who would take their places upon their deaths and the emissary's words disturbed them all. "That does not surprise me," Jupiter, the most ancient and leader of the Council, stated tonelessly. The emissary gave him a look of confusion but before he could explain, the Force sent an excruciating dagger of pain into his heart.

When the pain subsided, he revealed what it was that had triggered the pain within his ancient heart. "I sense a presence as ancient as myself, a presence that I have not felt since the days of... the Legions of Lettow," he explained. The rest of the council began murmuring and whispering its surprise right away but Jupiter raised a hand for silence. "This darkness that approaches is one we created with our actions, twenty-five thousand years ago when I was young," Jupiter said.

The emissary didn't need to ask how he had survived since the days of the Legions of Lettow: every twenty years that a priest lived, he would conduct a one-thousand year long trance. Their selected seconds would act as their mouthpieces, peering into their minds to deliver their will to others. However, the flaw with this is that the seconds could not be stopped from such heinous acts as taking bribes. Jupiter had been under one such trance when the Legions of Lettow first formed and thus, his second was consulted by the leaders of the Legions.

Though the leaders didn't know, it had been the seconds and not the priests themselves who had accepted the bribes but it was too late to change that now. Remembering this made Jupiter drift off into deep thought but he was soon called back to the present which was needed due to his ancient age. "Master, what is this darkness that you speak of and how is it possible that it could have returned from those ancient days to threaten us now?" the emissary asked. "Arden Lyn has returned," he answered, whispering with great sorrow and fear in his voice.

No one needed to ask who Arden Lyn was for everyone knew her tragic story and knew what had happened to her around the time of her supposed death. After all, the seconds of the Priests around that time were partly responsible for what had happened to her in those long forgotten days of legends. In addition, the priests awoke five-hundred years later to make sure that Arden Lyn's tomb was protected from unworthy intruders as compensation for what had happened. Several rogue Jedi had sought the treasures of the Legions of Lettow afterwards but the Palawan traps deterred or kill them all.

"What do we do? Surely it is not too late to reason with her and make her understand that the actions of our seconds were not the faults of the priests," one young priest suggested. Several of the younger priests turned to Jupiter to see what he would say to that seemingly wise suggestion. What he said, however, would baffle them all and even put fear into many of the younger ones.

"No, young one. We betrayed Arden Lyn and her husband Xendor with the actions of our seconds and now we must pay. Arden Lyn will not be persuaded or reasoned with for her vengeance, her pain are both far beyond reasoning now," he answered. "But surely we can't just let her kill us willingly!" a priest exclaimed suddenly.

"We will fight, that's what she would want us to do: to put on an honorable display even if in the end, we accept the consequence of our actions against her," Jupiter replied. No priest or second had anything to say, even the emissary was troubled by this development revealed by Jupiter. "But there is something one thing that we can do: save our seconds and have only priests fight," Jupiter added. Not one priest hesitated to begin that process and the emissary was immediately dismissed to fight for them.

**Yun sensed the presence** of Arden Lyn and when a stormtrooper's transmission to him confirmed she was there, he immediately clipped his lightsaber to follow her. The report had been that Arden was attacking the stormtroopers so he would need to kill her if he couldn't subdue her first. Cutting his way through any disciple of the Followers that challenged him, he finally found her about to enter the Citadel and called out to her. "Arden Lyn, get down here and face me or suffer the brand of the traitor forevermore!" Yun shouted.

The woman turned around to see him, apparently hearing his cry which he smiled at seeing. But she surprised him when she used Force Jump to fly above the distance between them. She landed centimeters away from him and told him she would be dubbed a traitor even if she hadn't faced him. "True but at least you will be able to have some honor to go with the label if you face me in combat," Yun replied.

"I don't need a duel with you, it'd only be a waste of time. So I'm only going to knock you out of the picture quickly and then return to the task I wanted to go about doing," she said. Then she lunged with her right mechanical arm, charging Force energy into it so quick that it seemed but a blink of green. After that, she made contact by punching him with it and the impact sent him flying all the way from the Citadel to the gates of the fortress.

That was an astonishing distance of several dozen meters or so and when he landed, he did so with enough force to literally slam the gates wide open when he landed upon them. "Sir, are you alright?" his lieutenant asked upon seeing him. "Never better, new orders: destroy the fortress, burn it all to the ground and purge those within!" Yun ordered. "We have two AT-ATs nearby and four AT-STs if you would like me to bring them in," the lieutenant suggested.

"Yes bring them in, bring in all the destructive equipment you can find. The Followers of Palawa must be purged from the face of the galaxy and Arden Lyn must be destroyed for her betrayal! Bring it all down!" Yun ordered. The lieutenant nodded and went to make the rounds in order for Yun's orders for a purge to be obeyed immediately.

**After dealing with the** Dark Jedi named Yun, Arden used the Force to propel herself back to where she was before his disruption. But as she ascended the steps, she found memories racing across her mind specifically memories of when she and Xendor had first arrived here. At that time, their reason had been that the Followers of Palawa were a powerful force though not like the Jedi. However, their power was great enough to where Xendor would rather have them as an ally than as an enemy.

The reason was because while not even the full strength of the Legions would be required to destroy them, it would weaken them against the greater Jedi enemy. They needed every shred of power they could get as well as some degree of protection from the scrutiny of the Jedi. Arden had thought, as Xendor did, that the Followers of Palawa would give them that protection against their enemies. However, they had provided them with naught but treachery and defeat that was sure to be eminent for the Legions and their ideals.

Now, though, she had an opportunity to avenge the betrayal of the past and was not so innocent as to be incapable of violence in her vengeance. The best part of her vengeance, nevertheless, was that she was not about to enter the citadel unopposed by more disciples. She dispatched some with energy bolts conjured from the Force and ejected out of her mechanical arm whilst Force-choking others. Those who were not trapped by either power was cut down by her lightsaber or swept away with Kinetite and Force Destruction.

Making her way up the citadel, she was temporarily rocked by the tremors of several explosions that were happening outside and around the building. She knew it was only a matter of time before the source turned its cannons on the citadel itself and hurried as best she could. Climbing up the stairs, she killed all who opposed her though she guessed they were just buying time for the priests. They would need their seconds to escape in order to continue to spread the discipline of Terras Kasi across the galaxy where Arden could not.

She would permit them this out of respect for who they were and besides, her vengeance was strictly with the priests and not the seconds who would succeed them upon their deaths. Readying her blades, she knew that the priests would most likely not talk for very long and would certainly fight her. However, with her skills in lightsaber proficiency in addition to her improved connection with the Force and her wide variety of powers combined with their likely ancient age, she knew they would surely die. Revenge was all but guaranteed for Arden Lyn, husband of Xendor the first leader of the Legions of Lettow in the First Great Jedi Schism.

**"Emperor Palpatine, may I** speak with you for a moment?" the hologram of the Dark Jedi Yun spoke. "Go ahead Yun but make it quick," Palpatine stated annoyed. He always hated speaking with the apprentice of Jerec's pupil Sariss due to his pampered, indulgent nature. Nonetheless, he sensed that Yun sincerely had something that was worth speaking to him about on emergency frequency.

"Your mighty Hand, Arden Lyn, has betrayed the Empire and has thus betrayed you in that process. I was planning on destroying the Followers of Palawa when I suddenly saw my troops being attacked by Arden Lyn as well as the disciples. One of my lieutenants notified me of this development before he was hacked down and then I tried to stop her only to have barely made it," he said bluntly. Palpatine thought to himself about this and wondered if this was why she had volunteered to search for Skywalker after his conversation with Lord Vader.

He knew that once he revealed his intention to never resurrect Xendor, she would use whatever opportunity she could find to defect. But he also knew that she would need to make a statement in order to avoid returning into his servitude at all. _Perhaps this is the statement that she intended to make and why not? She benefits by revealing her new enmity to me in addition to gaining her revenge against the priests of the Followers of Palawa_ Palpatine thought silently.

When Yun asked him for a response or even an approval to go ahead and destroy the Citadel she was traveling in after dealing with all other buildings, Palpatine did so. "Yes, go ahead and do so when you're finished. Isn't it what you were already planning to do?" he replied. Yun didn't bother to answer the question except with a bow that acknowledged the familiar cut of transmission. Sighing heavily, the Dark Lord of the Sith also known as Darth Sidious became troubled by this turn of events.

This was the first time that any powerful servant of his had betrayed him though he wasn't used to political officials turning on him if they weren't intimidated into submission. Even Lord Vader couldn't stop those people even if he gave his all to doing precisely that in the name of Palpatine. However, he had never had a servant with similar power and abilities to Lord Vader actually make a defection case. _I'll destroy you Arden Lyn, make no mistake of that. I _will_ destroy you even if it's the last thing that I do as cliche as that phrase is_ Palpatine vowed silently.

But first, he would test her powers and thus decided to call upon a man who had fought her before. Torbin was unavailable due to his death and Darys was also unavailable for reasons of dying in the confrontation with Arden Lyn. So it turned out to be that he would need Inquisitor Tremayne for the apprehension of the ancient woman though he was truthfully just a test of her skill. "Admiral Tarkin, summon High Inquisitor Tremayne to my Throne Room," he ordered into his chair's comlink.

"Yes my liege, I have sent him the memo already. He should be there within minutes or so," Tarkin replied after a few seconds. And as promised, Tremayne did arrive within a few minutes after the Grand Moff sent his summons to him. "You wished to see me, milord?" Tremayne asked upon arrival.

"Yes, the mission I have for you now is special and requires no failure on your part. My Emperor's Hand called Arden Lyn has gone rogue and made her case by killing several troops. I need you to track her down and destroy her, settling your old score with the woman in the process no doubt. Do you feel up to it?" Palpatine explained immediately.

"My liege, it will be my utmost pleasure to find and dispatch that insane hag in the name of the Empire. I will bring her head and her lightsabers to you as soon as possible or die trying!" Tremayne vowed passionately. "Very good, she was last seen in Bunduki though I have a feeling she will survive Dark Jedi Yun's attempt to destroy her there," Palpatine replied calmly. "I will follow her presence to whatever planet she happens to be on, even if it's in the foulest parts of Tatooine!" Tremayne shouted. "Then go, High Inquisitor. Avenge this betrayal and your previous dishonor," Palpatine stated.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

Arriving alas to the chamber at the top of the Citadel's tallest tower, Arden Lyn was disappointed to see very little change in this either though not surprised. Immediately, she was greeted by five priests trying to stop her with electric-tip rods, the purple bolts painful at touch. However, a wave of Force Destruction saw the deaths of these hapless youths (compared to Jupiter, her target). Three additional priests rose to take their place but Arden sensed them behind the doors that led to the chambers long before she saw them.

Using Kinetite, she brushed the doors aside and used telekinesis to make sure that each door crushed one of the members of the trio attempting to oppose her. The remaining one had his neck Force Crushed before Arden even entered the room to face Jupiter and his younger second-in-command. "Arden Lyn, it has been millennia since last we crossed paths. I am so sorry for the deeds of the past, can you ever forgive me for having let my second take the bribe that compromised our honor?" he asked.

Arden was temporarily halted in her advance by the comment of his second accepting a bribe rather than the priest himself. But suddenly, it made sense: the seconds did not feel as bound to the code as the priests themselves were and had often exerted that confidence passionately in her day. However, the second that had accepted the bribe was no longer alive and had definitely been replaced by many. "I forgive you Jupiter, do not mistaken that but your second is not here to take his punishment. Therefore, I must deliver my vengeance on the only one living today that was there to see it: you," she replied.

Jupiter nodded, accepting that even though she could sense that he was fearful of her newly improved powers. She didn't entirely blame him considering that he was substituting that treacherous second's life with his own due to the millennia that had passed since his death. "Just allow us the courtesy of an honorable fight to the death, at least," Jupiter said in reply. Arden nodded before activating her lightsabers to engage the one-ended electrostaffs of the priests she would face now. Jupiter's right-hand man, the ever-confident Nobunaga, attacked first by swinging his body in diagonally angled spins whilst positioning his staff accordingly in an attempt to use it somewhat like a sword.

Arden fended this off whilst also deflecting Jupiter's own head-on attack with an overhead stroke. After several moments of crossing weapons with both of them, Arden broke off the hold and began to slowly back up especially after the cannons she had felt earlier were shooting at the Citadel. Jupiter was first to return with an aggressive barrage that she fended off with relative ease before attempting to stab at him with the green blade of one of her sabers. Unfortunately, this left her open to a wide variety of attacks from the flank which Nobunaga was quick to exploit when he could.

In a matter of seconds, Arden was hit with enough force to send her flying just by Nobunaga ramming himself into her side. _Damn, even in in old age, Nobunaga still packs an excellent punch. I guess this kind of shape is one benefit of being a true master of Terras Kasi_ she thought quietly. However, it took her only split seconds more to figure out a strategy to counter this and save herself from a massive fall to the base of the Citadel.

Desiring to continue the duel and escape the shooting of Imperial cannons, Arden used the Force to pull Jupiter and Nobunaga down to the base with her. Using telekinesis, she slowed her fall so that she could literally glide down most of the several thousand meters she would have to fall. Undoubtedly, Jupiter and Nobunaga had figured out to do the same thing as soon as they were also falling and all three glided to the stairs of the base. When they finally landed several minutes later, Nobunaga was once again first to attack despite missing and having to defend.

However, Arden found herself pinned in a crossing between Nobunaga and old Jupiter who had come in from the opposite side with another overhead stroke. But she soon kicked him in the chin to get him off and attempted to hack him down with both blades overhead. Placing the blade on her right hand over her shoulder, she blocked another attack from Nobunaga and elbowed his face with her free arm. Jupiter tried to kick her in the face by swinging his legs into the air though Arden dodged this by simply leaning back far enough for him to miss before propelling herself into a forward backflip.

After righting herself unto her feet, she turned her focus to Jupiter who she hoped would make the next attack as he had before. However, Nobunaga leapt over her and she watched where this was going long enough for Jupiter to try and ambush her. But she swatted his staff aside and dodged a punch in such a manner that she was able to kick Nobunaga several meters away from her before he attacked. However, Arden knew that they were trying to weaken her so that they could easily bludgeon and electrocute her to death at their leisure for it was their style sometimes when facing an opponent.

So she decided to end this duel quick by reducing the number of opposing contestants a little further than it already had been by first Force-Pushing Jupiter aside. The result was Jupiter flying up the rest of the stairs above them and rolling a little ways out of the picture before Nobunaga rose back up. Bravely, he tried to cover the ground between him and her but she jumped out of the way just in time for him to miss when he tried swinging at her legs. His stupidity began to show, however, when he tried several swatting strokes that she easily deflected or repelled with her lightsabers.

Then she went full-offensive and Nobunaga's age was most prominent here as he could not call Force Valor in time to neutralize her application of it. As a result, she was able to suppress his own and continue to bombard him with Force-fueled spins, twirls, and slashes from her lightsabers. It all came to an end when he decided to use Jupiter's specialty of overhead strokes only to be placed into Stasis. The seconds that Arden had after using the Force to place him there were used to impale him in the chest with both of her lightsabers before throwing him aside with the a burst of telekinesis.

Jupiter recovered in time to see what happened and Arden watched as he called Nobunaga's staff into his free hand and used a primitive version of Arden's Jar'Kai against her. However, the ferocity of the attack was so shocking that he actually managed to disarm her of her sabers. Despite this, Arden was not helpless and disarmed him with her own application of Terras Kasi to equal him. Jupiter made no attempt to retrieve his weapons, realizing that there was no honor in doing so when she was unarmed unless he allowed her to also retrieve her weapons which he didn't want.

Immediately, he fought with the agility to be expected of the Variant of the Snake though Arden was quick to counter this with the defense of the Variant of the Assassin. At the first opening, she quickly switched into the Variant of the Rancor long enough to break two ribs with one punch. That severe blow forced Jupiter to stagger several paces back and recover his breath before readying again. Here, Arden decided to switch into the Variant of Anger and show him where her true prowess in Terras Kasi lied.

In a series of kicks and furious punches, she forced him to give several meters of ground to her even with his masterful application of the Variant of the Assassin's defensive capacity. Then he surprised her with something she had not seen before even in the Variant of Anger and her mastery of it. It was a series of chops and swings of his arms that ripped through her offensive and allowed him to hit her. Landing the palm of his hand on the middle space between her breasts, she was forced to back down a little and recover her breath as he had been forced to do earlier thanks to her.

"The last time I faced the Variant of Anger was against your husband Xendor. In him, I saw the dangers of allowing a master of the technique to ravage the galaxy unchecked and developed a contrast. Allow me to introduce what I call the 'Variant of Serenity', the direct counter to the Variant of Anger," he said. When he exercised the technique, she initially fell back onto the Variant of the Assassin before going full defensive with the Variant of the Absorber.

Absorbing as many of his blows as possible, hence the name, and dodging the kicks that she couldn't allowed Arden to discover the secrets behind his technique. He called the Variant of Serenity because it required a calm, rational mind to properly wield it, a worthy contrast to her favorite Variant. However, she also observed that it was a combination of the Variant of the Snake with the agility and endurance as well as the Variant of the Rancor for strength and power to complete the offensive side. But she also observed, whenever she struck back occasionally, that he had traded all this offensive for only the defensive capacity of the Variant of the Assassin should he be forced to fall back on it.

She knew these techniques and knew that the Variant of Anger was the same combination with only one difference: the Variant of Anger had no defensive technique but it did have relentlessness. In addition, it had far more endurance and required the strength of one's anger in order to be wielded. If Arden's anger was stronger than Jupiter's serenity, she could easily destroy his rationale and kill him. She also remembered that she had the advantage of amplifying the strength of her punches on her mechanical arm through the Force and vowed to do just that.

Giving into the full depth of her anger with a manner of seconds, she resumed her attack with the Variant named for it. So overwhelming and furious was this renewed vengeance that Jupiter's defenses proved inadequate as she managed to punch him in the breastbone with her artificial arm. The impact nearly shattered the bone though it did rupture a lung and force him to gasp for air even as he fought. Additionally, he was sent flying several paces back and slid on his back when he landed on his backside after the flight.

He barely managed to arise quick enough to counter her but he stopped to ask her what it was that gave her this strength. "The Variant of Anger, like any other, has it's name for a reason: in order to master it, one must delve into the more murderous part of their psyche. They must become as angry as a carnivorous mothering animal protecting her young or worse if they can in order to use it. That is why a true master is angry to the point of gnashing their teeth but enough talk, I must kill you now," she replied.

Jupiter tried to use the Variant's only contrast against her and was effective only in putting up a fight and not forcing her to give ground as it had earlier when she was forced only to defend. It seemed to him as though her calculating, observing mind had paid off more in the long run than it hadn't for her. _No, impossible: the Variant of Serenity has always been able to defeat the Variant of Anger!_ he exclaimed to himself quietly. "How could you possibly use the Variant of Anger to counter the Variant of Serenity so well!?" he demanded aloud.

"You fought Xendor, a man with little to no anger when he used it against you. He relied on the Talisman to give him the power that he eventually mustered up to beat you. I, on the other hand, don't have that handicap when using it thanks to your corrupted second's actions and the Jedi," she replied. Then she continued to bombard him with a punishing attack that he could only fend off when he used the cortosis gauntlets that gave his stature away to others in the Followers and some rogues like Arden.

But it wasn't long before Arden thought of yet another idea that would spell certain doom to his ability to use the gauntlets as a defense. Amplifying her mechanical hand with as much power as possible, the glow of green light incredibly bright as it did so, she launched to punch him in the face. However, it was meant to bring his gauntlets up to his face so that when the punch collided with them, they would be shattered into millions of tiny, harmless pieces on the ground which made him vulnerable. From here, his serenity began to melt away and expose the fearful little man that was inside and had been living deep within Jupiter's heart for the eons he had cheated death.

As he tried his best to defend himself and fight Arden by switching over the other Variants, his fear of actually losing in fair combat mounted. Arden exploited this and sent strong punches to his chest, stomach and face whilst roundhouse kicking his jaw once or twice. The blows took their toll and Jupiter began to slow down significantly though he was still able to continue the fight like she hoped. All around them, the fortress of the Palawa was being destroyed with the towers of the Citadel having finally fallen.

It was only a matter of time before the base of the structure imploded and melted into the earth around it at which point, Arden would need to run like hell. So she finished up the duel by punching him the chest, lungs, kidneys, and even made one to his nose with her mechanical hand. She knew that he could endure the first three but these were merely distractions meant to set him up for the fourth. For when Arden hit his nose, she did so in such a manner that a shard of the cartilage stabbed into his brain.

She knew she succeeded when blood started flowing from his nostrils and down into his mouth in the very manner that signified shattered cartilage hemorrhaging his brain. But the death was not as instantaneous as she would have liked though nonetheless, it came very swiftly. "How... how is this possible?" he said. Then he fell on his face, having drawn his last breath on the lack of understanding as to how Arden had perfected the Variant of Anger's root concept.

In truth, Arden had very little understanding of how she was able to do it as well though she knew how to do it. Calling her lightsabers back to her before they were lost in the rubble, she thought about this revelation as she began running for her life in time for the citadel to rapidly melt down. Hoar was waiting for her in the city's tavern unless the Imperials drove him out but she doubted that highly. After all, they hadn't even known she was there until she revealed herself to them and there was no way that they would know Hoar was with her just by seeing her there.

Nonetheless, the young Dark Jedi who had been thrown aside knew she would have survived this destruction and would be on the run now. Any rogue who had done what she had done would most certainly have doomed themselves to Imperial scrutiny forever. She knew the Emperor would not rest until he had seen to it that she was destroyed but what she didn't know was that luck would be with her. For aside from Yun, there were others that had seen what Arden had done and were more than willing to take full advantage of the opening it gave them.

**Paris Zaarin, son of** Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, hadn't been on Bunduki very long when the Imperials engaged the Followers of Palawa with intent to destroy them all. However, he became really interested once he heard a broadcast that stated the arrival of the Emperor's Hand Arden Lyn. The reason he had become so interested because the broadcast stated that she was attacking Imperial troopers in simultaneity to disciples of the Followers of Palawa._ I think this is the defect my father is looking for_ Paris thought to himself just before exiting his hotel room.

He knew that Arden was usually associated with at least one of her students, the most frequent being a Tusken Raider named Hoar and a Gamorrean named Thok. Of course, that was assuming she was not traveling in the company of a fellow human now known as Lumiya, another Emperor's Hand. However, as fate would have it, Paris encountered only Hoar the Tusken Raider for it seemed that he was the only one with a life-debt to Arden Lyn unlike the others.

From the grime on his clothing and the sweat stains on his mask, it would appear as though he had been out hunting disciples of the Followers and fighting many all day. Smiling, he took a seat next to Hoar after asking if the seat was taken and the Tusken shook his head in reply. "You might want to save your credits on the drinking, allow me to buy you the next few glasses," Paris offered. He tossed several dozen credits in the way of the bartender and asked for a whole bottle of Korriban fire whiskey.

"Who are you?" Hoar asked. "The son of an old friend of yours and an old friend of your Mistress especially. Paris Zaarin, son of Grand Admiral Demetrius at your service and you must be the Tusken Raider known as Hoar, right?" Paris replied as he extended a hand for shaking. Hoar took it and confirmed his identity as the pupil of Arden Lyn as well as the only one with a genuine debt to her.

"We knew Demetrius though relatively minimally, Arden scared him off her the first time the two of them met," Hoar added. "That doesn't surprise me, the old man's so easy to intimidate that I could make him wet his pants if I really wanted to. And believe me, that wasn't always the case especially when he was decades younger," Paris admitted, laughing before speaking. "Let me just be blunt on behalf of my Mistress and ask what the hell you want," Hoar said suddenly.

"Almost immediate with getting to the point, I like that in any man. Because it's not what the hell _I_ want so much as what the hell my father wants. He's been looking for a powerful Force-sensitive like your Mistress and has been waiting for precisely the defection display she must've surely given by now. If you and her are both interested, we would like you to join us in our quest to destroy the Emperor and Lord Vader," Paris explained bluntly.

Hoar thought about that as he chugged down a small cup of the whiskey despite his slowly acquired taste for it. "Don't drink that stuff down too fast, you don't want to be passing out before your Mistress returns to receive my message. This is the code to my personal frequency and if she wants face to face contact, here's the number to my room," Paris said as he wrote down both means of contact. Then he handed the small flimiplast napkin to the Tusken Raider who put it in a cleaner pocket to deliver to his Mistress after guzzling his fill on the whiskey as reward for a good and hard-fought battle.

He had collected many trophies from the fallen disciples including several scalps as well as fingers and ears that he pickled for longer preservation. The Tusken had also collected several golden and jeweled apparels to decorate his relatively plain brown robes adapted for the Tatooine dunes. His rifle had only needed to be reloaded twice and his gaffi had been allowed to do plenty of damage also. It was a good day and though he desperately desired to get drunk, he decided to first deliver the note with a comment of his own to the room he had reserved for his Mistress first before doing that.

However, before he even covered the stairs, she returned with dirt, sweat, and grime covering her entire being with some bleeding cuts on her forehead and left hand. Returning back to the first floor, he explained the purpose behind the note and told her there was no rush as far as he knew. "Excellent, that means I can wash this filth off me before I go before men like this Paris Zaarin," she replied. Smiling beneath his mask, he admitted he needed to catch up on hygiene also and walked with Arden to do it.

However, they soon departed since their rooms were separate and Arden had to admit that she had never been so relieved to see the Tusken Raider again in her years of knowing him. When the Citadel was destroyed, it began a meltdown that caused a crater which destroyed everything within. This included all the smaller fortifications the Followers had built as well as Imperial weapons of war and troopers who had failed to escape in time. Arden herself barely managed to get out through the moat exit due to being opposed by several surviving disciples of the Followers along the way.

One of them had even given her the bleeding cut on her forehead with his spear though this insolent young man didn't last very long before the Variant of Anger. Why they had opposed her rather than saved their own lives was beyond her but she did admire their bravery as a result. They chose to surrender their lives in combat against her rather than take a chance of being consumed in the meltdown. _Perhaps that was a wise choice and not as quick a death as the one I could promise any who challenged me_ Arden thought to herself as she turned on the hot water in the shower.

Wiping away the filth and cleaning the wound had never felt better in Arden's twenty-five thousand years alive, not even when she had to bathe the scars on her back and upper posterior. Still, she did somewhat wonder why this Paris Zaarin would help his father; Demetrius was weak, after all.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Demetrius could not have been more pleased with his son when he heard the news of Arden Lyn's rather public declaration of defection from the Empire. "Just what we need to complete our coup against the Emperor but be careful. She's not likely to fall for your charm as easily as any other woman has in the past," he said. "No worries father, she's in the shower cleaning up from her battle with the priests and her escape from the destruction of their fortress," Paris replied.

_Who knows how eager he'll be to get under the towel that she'll wrap herself with after the shower. It seems as though he is too promiscuous to be controlled forever by anyone_ Demetrius thought to himself silently. Nonetheless, it was his hope that his son would not be distracted with Arden or any woman when the time came to destroy the Emperor. The last thing he needed was to have to save his son from his head being up in the clouds about some girl during the battle.

"Admiral, the designs you requested have been tested. With some luck, they'll be ready for their first battle ahead of schedule by about two months earlier or so," one of his subordinate officers stated. "Perfect, this is excellent news. We'll go ahead and go by the schedule even if they're ready in advance, I want to make sure I have the Emperor by absolute and total surprise," Demetrius said.

"Yes sir, have you found the assassin who will capture him?" the officer asked. "Why yes, my son came across a former Emperor's Hand named Arden Lyn who killed several stormtroopers. She spared their leader, Dark Jedi Yun, but made her statement of defection in the blood of Imperials. The timing in her doing so could not have been any better as far as I'm concerned," Demetrius answered.

"Perfect, let's hope she will accept your offer to join us and fight the Emperor on our behalf. I'd hate to be the one to point a pistol at a man who can reduce me to ash in seconds," the officer stated. "If anyone can persuade a woman like Arden Lyn, Paris is the one to do it as he is about to now," Demetrius agreed. "I wish him all the luck in persuading her then, I have heard she can be very stubborn," the officer said.

Demetrius dismissed him after admitting that he had heard that about her as well and the officer bowed before leaving. Once again, Demetrius was alone to think about all that was and would be for the Zaarin family. He was not without his fears when it came to taking on the Emperor and Lord Vader, failure to destroy them meant being forever pursued by relentless forces eager to get a reward. However, the worst part about that was Vice Admiral Thrawn had left Zaarin's keep to forge his own destiny which meant he could be the one ordered to pursue Zaarin if he failed and survived.

Why in the universe would even the bravest Imperial Admiral not be afraid of that possibility in his shoes? Could he really expect his son to understand that his fears had guided him well throughout his life and even saved it on more than one occasion? He highly doubted it, intelligent as his son was even compared to him and he was already one of the greater minds of the Grand Admirals. Shaking his head at this distraction, he turned his attention back to planning when to launch the coup against the Sith.

**Arriving out of the** shower, Arden immediately bandaged her forehead since it was still bleeding though not as badly as before. Grabbing the flimiplast with Paris' information, she headed for the room number that he had left on it and knocked on the door. "Come in, the door's opened to the Force if it's you, Arden," Paris said. His voice sounded like a younger and more confident version of what his father's voice was and she wondered if Demetrius had been the same way when he was young too.

But those silly questions that thought started were soon blown out of her mind when she saw Paris for the first time. _He's the man from my dream, the shoulder-length hair, that build... How is this possible_? Arden asked herself silently. He looked like he had seen her from a dream before as well and confirmed he had when he asked if she knew about the little girl and describing her.

"Formalities aside, I have come to offer you a place fighting with me and my father to destroy the Emperor. You could have your revenge for whatever insults he and Lord Sidious did to you and rescue anyone you love from the Empire," Paris added after their talk about the vision. _Could I save Shira from the clutches of the Empire?_ Arden thought but didn't say. "On a condition, if you don't mind having conditions to your bargain," she said aloud.

"Personally, I could care less as this is more my father's bargain than it is mine. I'm just the sweet talker who's supposed to reel you in," he retorted. Smiling, she continued with what she said although she was beginning to admire his attitude and looks more and more. It wasn't love at first sight, she had seen him before this in the dreams that she had had of her possible family. "I want to be permitted to bring my pupil Hoar along with me for at the moment, he's the only friend I have," she said.

"Well I certainly don't want to separate you from your only friend so with that said, you got yourself a deal. Welcome to the winning team, Arden Lyn!" he joked. _I am not so sure you and your father have what it takes to match the might of the Empire. The Rebel Alliance is their greatest opponent so far and even they struggle to stay alive_ she thought silently.

She tried to assess this man carefully and wondered why in the universe the will of the Force would decree him to be the father of a possible child. Was it because it had willed that she would move on past Xendor and find a life of peace? Could this be her big reprieve from what the years of suffering had brought upon her coming in full at last? "How long have you had the dream of me and the girl, Paris?" she asked at last.

"Most of my life, since at least my early adolescence or so. Why do you ask?" he answered. "I've had the dream for eight years since I returned from the Void of the universe on a mission for Thrawn when he was part of the Chiss Ascendancy," she explained. "So the two of you do know each other from somewhere as father believed," he stated, it wasn't a question.

"Yes, we worked together during the Clone Wars before I was frozen in suspended in animation for fifteen years. I floated in an escape pod during that time and he tried to find me to no avail, I was found by the enemy he had waged war with and held in their captivity for a couple weeks. Then I returned without a friend in the galaxy and meditated on my grief for six months before serving the Sith. Seven and a half years have passed since I agreed to serve them and now I have gone rogue on the promise that I would find the young boy called Skywalker," she confessed.

"Damn and father mentioned you going into another longer hibernation than any of the ones you've told me, is that true?" he inquired. Arden nodded and confessed that, altogether, she was more than twenty-five thousand years old with the first hibernation being the reason for such a huge gap. "I'm so sorry Arden, that explains the ring around your finger and how it is such an antique, right?" he asked. "Yes but I still wear it because it reminds me of the man I used to be married to, the man that the Emperor promised to resurrect in exchange for my service before I realized he couldn't," she answered.

"What was it like back in those days when the Republic was first forming? Was it as dangerous as the Imperials would have you believe it was?" he inquired. "For now, be satisfied that it was even more dangerous than that but I will tell you at another time. We have other matters to attend to right now, do we not?" she replied.

"We'll need to get to my father before the night's out, this hotel won't shelter us from Imperial authorities once they see Hoar is here," he agreed. "Then I'll go down and see if he's not too drunk yet but if he is, you're carrying him," she retorted. Shrugging, he agreed to be the Tusken Raider's carrier if he was passed out cold from drinking but truly hoped that he wasn't. _Maybe I'm supposed to just bang Arden and then have something really bad happen to me or something_ he thought silently.

**Hoar had been drinking** for the last twenty minutes or so but still, he felt nowhere near capable of passing out. "This is the strongest that you've got? I'm barely even nauseated, never mind unconscious!" he exclaimed. "The whiskey impairs your thoughts and cognitive ability to register feelings of any kind, sir," the bartender warned.

"Hell with it, pour me another round and make sure I still got the credits from that pretty boy human to pay for the rounds!" Hoar ordered. "I'm afraid that's not going to be the case, Hoar. We gotta go now," Arden said from behind him. "Damn it, just give me the bottle and I'll guzzle it down next time I get a chance to do so," Hoar ordered.

"That'll suck up the last of the credits the kid put in your tab," the bartender replied. "Good, I might not be coming back here for a while anyway," Hoar snapped. When the bottle was handed to him, he and his companions immediately started running from the bar and to Zaarin's shuttle. "Any great ideas for dodging Imperials if they find us before we reach your ship?" he asked Paris.

"Just a couple but they should get the job done without any concrete bloodshed," Paris answered. "Now where's the fun in that?" Hoar asked rhetorically. "If we were here for your kinda fun, I'd let you have it all but we're not so you do as I say, got it?" Paris snapped. "Yeah, yeah sure, just don't be on the wrong end of my rifle if I have to shoot something," Hoar warned.

Arden smiled at that comment, wondering if the two would ever get along or if she was going to have to make them get along. Last thing she needed was an early preparation by being mommy for two grown men of different species. "Now boys, break it up! We're not enemies here, the Imperials are the real foes; Hoar, waste your rounds on them if you have to but no more than that," she ordered.

"No worries Mistress, did you think I'd do anything else?" he asked. "Actually, yes I did," she answered. "Me too," Paris agreed. "Shut up, no one was talking to you," Arden ordered at which point he apologized.

They reached the shuttle unopposed but did have to fight to protect the shuttle though Arden dispelled a round of Kinetite to throw off the stormtroopers sent to stop them. "You enjoy using that power a little too much, don't you?" Hoar asked. "Let's just say you don't want to be on the wrong end of it unless you know how to stop it," Arden answered.

"Yeah I don't think I would," Hoar retorted with a wink beneath his mask. "My father is located over the Parmel System at his facility _Research_ though he'll soon be making his move. I shall have you two meet him there and he'll tell you what you can do to help his movement," Paris said. Then he launched them into hyperspace upon being clear of the atmosphere of Bunduki and flying in space.

**Inquisitor Tremayne arrived on** Bunduki in the hopes of finding Arden Lyn here since Palpatine had told him about her vengeance for the priests. However, the report brought in by Dark Jedi Yun indicated that she had already completed her vengeance and escaped from the planet. "You imbecile, by acting against her, you have helped her escape!" Tremayne shouted at the boy after reading a report. "Sir, I didn't even know she would be appearing on the field until she did and when I saw her attack my troopers _and_ the disciples, I had to do something," Yun replied.

"True but you could have contact Palpatine first and heard what his orders were on the matter before attacking, not the other way around. It's amazing that you are still alive though I must admit that you are under the tutelage of Prophetess Sariss for a good reason," Tremayne stated. "And what reason is that, might I ask?" Yun asked. "That you stupid, incompetent, and a spoiled little child," Tremayne hissed in reply.

Yun simply bowed to Tremayne out of respect for his superior rank and left the older man to ponder his next course of action._ Now where could a woman like Arden Lyn have gone after leaving Bunduki? She certainly would not go anywhere where her darker aura would give her away to anyone pursuing it for certain_ Tremayne thought quietly. Guessing that Hoar was a drinking type and that he would have come with Arden, he headed to the nearest bar that he could find.

Either it was the will of the Force or just excellent deduction but Tremayne found a clue that led him to her whereabouts almost immediately. "I am looking for a woman with neck-length black hair and a mechanical arm gained from a pre-Old Sith War juggernaut droid. She has a Tusken Raider in her company named Hoar who likes to drink Korriban fire whiskey, so I've been told. Would any of you happen to know where I can find such a duo of people?" he asked the customers and bartender.

"You might have met them here a couple hours ago, the Tusken was drinking my whiskey like water and even asked me to permit him to take a bottle. I don't know where they were going but I can tell you that they were in the company of a man called Paris Zaarin, does this help?" the bartender said. _Paris Zaarin... that's Demetrius' son, no doubt but what would Arden be doing with him unless he came to her with an offer from his father? What could such an offer be that Paris was sent to persuade Arden and Hoar to join them after Arden made her statement of defection?_ he thought.

Quickly switching his mechanical eye to infrared, he scanned the bartender and saw no deception in his explanation that Arden and Hoar had gone with Paris. After switching it to regular sight, he thanked the bartender and immediately marched off back to his ship whilst formulating another plan. Unless Demetrius had not yet heard the news about Arden Lyn's defection from the Empire, there was only one reason why he would want her to join his ranks: he planned to defect himself. However, despite doubting it, he was not unwilling to be wrong on either of these deductions he had made.

He was willing to accept the truth of her being an undercover agent and the Emperor ordering her to kill those troops. But it didn't explain why he had sent Tremayne to hunt her down unless he ordered him to do so to keep an eye on her. _Still, I wonder why the Emperor would need to keep an eye on an undercover agent of the Empire_ Tremayne observed as he thought about this. That was when it hit him: Demetrius Zaarin and his son did intend to defect from the Empire as Arden Lyn had.

Now it would have been just a matter of taking a hyperspace trip to the Parmel System and spying on the Zaarin family as well as Arden but that was beyond him. Subtlety was seldom ever a skill that Tremayne relied on and spying was one of the most subtle things a servant of the Empire could do. However, he did want to get at Arden somehow and decided that the best thing to do was wait for her to come to him. If Zaarin intended to ally himself with Arden, capturing or killing the Emperor would be the biggest if not the only reason why.

It was time he shared his suspicions, or possible revelations, to the Emperor and warn him against possibly imminent danger from the two of them. They were a deadly combination if they intended to defect from the Empire but this made sense to High Inquisitor Tremayne now. Demetrius was a smart man and knew that he himself could never hope to defeat Lord Vader, let alone Palpatine. So he recruited someone else to do the job for him at the first possible opportunity to do it, a brilliant strategy and it showed an example of self-awareness.

_I will find you, Arden Lyn and I will have my revenge for the injuries you had inflicted on me when we last met. Be sure of that_ he vowed silently as he boarded his shuttle. "Where to, now Inquisitor?" the pilot asked. "Imperial Center, I have confidential information for the Emperor that I believe will interest him very much," Tremayne answered in time for takeoff.

**In the seven and** a half years since beginning his expeditions back into the Unknown Regions, Vice Admiral Thrawn had been very successful. Not only had he mapped the worlds that were commanded by the Chiss Ascendancy before he personally dissolved but the Killiks were revealed too. He had also seen worlds that were neutral or conquered by other organizations that Thrawn had never known about before. As if that wasn't interesting enough, some of these organizations had been in control of their worlds for several hundred years before Thrawn arrived and destroyed them.

Conquest had never been more exciting to Thrawn but it was researching the various cultures that had remained untouched until he arrived that truly enticed him. Examining a culture allowed him the insights he needed to destroy them should they rise up against him militaristically. However, he managed to wipe out warrior races just fine if they didn't give him a chance to observe and study them. Still, nothing formed a void in his heart more than the fact that he still didn't have Arden Lyn under his wing.

True that he had had his chance twenty-three years ago during the Clone Wars but her Battle Meditation had so amazed him that he simply could not live without it under his shadow. The power to boost the morale of his armies so greatly that victory was sealed was simply to great to be ignored. Granted, it was likely that Palpatine also knew arcane ceremonies similar to Battle Meditation but he was so confident of his strategical abilities that he seldom used them if at all. Admirable but it revealed his arrogance when he did it extensively and a true sign of the pompous ways of any emperor.

"Vice Admiral, reports are coming in throughout the HoloNet News of an attack on the priests of Bunduki that included a defected Emperor's Hand. She killed several stormtroopers as well as all of the head priests of the Palawa and she injured Dark Jedi Yun in the process of killing them. They say her name is Arden Lyn and that she has joined Admiral Demetrius Zaarin's son Paris," a captain stated. "What in the universe would compel the HoloNet to do a report on the son of the Grand Admiral persuading a defective Hand, I wonder?" Thrawn asked.

He didn't need the question to be answered, he could already calculate that Demetrius and his son Paris intended to overthrow the Emperor just by that move. However, he wanted to see if his subordinate officer could figure it out for himself as well as he had done. "I would say that Zaarin did it either because he doesn't know about her defection or else has intent to defect also," the man answered. "Good, very good because it is the second one that is possible for a man like Demetrius Zaarin or his son Paris," Thrawn said.

"What do you propose to do about this?" the captain inquired. "For now, we will be patient and continue mapping the Unknown Regions of the galaxy. However, when we are called upon to destroy Zaarin's defective forces we will," Thrawn explained. "Very well sir and what of Arden Lyn?" the captain continued.

"I beg your pardon?" Thrawn asked. The question had genuinely thrown him off guard but then he remembered telling this gentleman, named Pluto, about his past experiences with Arden. It was at that point that he calmed down and was almost ready to answer before Pluto reminded him of that. "You said that you had hoped she would join you once again for fighting your enemies," he stated. "Whenever and however possible, I will do what I can to see about getting her to join me upon the repulsion of the Zaarin insurrection that is sure to come; we must let the wheels of his mind turn on him.

"For when they do, he will become incompetent and arrogant to where even his advanced technologies will not save him," Thrawn explained. "Yes sir, I see no reason why we shouldn't be patient in waiting for Zaarin's arrogant psyche to destroy itself from within. That usually is how you destroy any man on equal or greater intelligence than you, no?" Pluto asked. Chuckling, Thrawn admitted that he was guilty as charged and dismissed the captain to continue his routine duties. After he left, Thrawn returned to his signature activity: thinking and meditating on near-perfect strategies.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

Arriving to _Research_ in the Parmel System didn't have the excitement that Arden Lyn thought it would have for her or Hoar. Despite its reputation as an incredible place for technological advancement and brilliant mechanical engineering, it just didn't catch their eyes as much as they had wanted it to. "Alright everybody, my father's going to meet us in the hangar and Arden, he'd like to speak with you alone," Paris said upon getting them out of lightspeed. _The man's got merit to want to speak with me after the way our first conversation ended, I'll give him that much_ Arden thought quietly.

Hoar looked like he was suspicious of that and Arden truly didn't blame him all that much for it. "Listen Hoar: admirable as your suspicion is, it won't help us establish an alliance that can topple the Emperor. Go hang out with Paris and have him show you what the Zaarin family intends to use against the Empire while you wait for me to finish business with him," Arden told him. "Yes Mistress but if you need some skull breaking to be done, let me know," the Tusken replied menacingly.

Arden nodded her acceptance of that request and asked Paris to show him around to which the young man agreed. To the surprise of both Arden and her Tusken companion, there were two battalions of troops likely from a militia independent of the Empire flanking each of their sides. Demetrius was in the center, waiting for Arden who came at the frontmost of the trio to reach him immediately. Meanwhile, Paris escorted Hoar away with troops following the two of them on each side just like his father's escort.

"Arden Lyn, it is great to have you here in the Research at long last," Demetrius said immediately. "Dispense with the formalities and tell me whether or not you know about the statement I made in Bunduki concerning my defection," Arden replied with equal speed. "Of course, my son had hacked into the communication transmissions of the Imperials involved. He caught a memo to Dark Jedi Yun concerning you attacking stormtroopers and Palawa disciples alike and told me," he explained.

_Paris has more talent than I give that prettyboy for having, perhaps there is merit in the Force choosing to have my path intertwine with his yet_ Arden thought silently. "Then I don't suppose you realize that by speaking with me, you're committing high treason against the Emperor? Unless, of course, you're intending to defect as well there is no reason for this conversation to even happen," she said aloud. "You've a sharp and feisty mind, just like the last time we met back on Imperial Center: yes I intend to defect as well and have brought you here with good reason.

"I need someone who can take on the Emperor and capture him (if possible) though killing him is not entirely out of the question if necessary," he explained. "You want me to fight the Emperor and either capture or kill him. Can't say that I'm anything short of disappointed that you would call upon me to fight that battle for you, Demetrius," she replied. "But you are the only one who is even remotely capable: I don't have the Force and neither does my son but you've defected from the Empire like us!" he exclaimed.

"I defected because the Emperor chose not to fulfill the bargain we agreed on and even admitted he wouldn't have the power to follow through with it anyway. My anger at the fact that he would even make it in the first place was unparalleled and I defected accordingly," she said. "Indeed our reasons for defection are different but the desire remains the same. I want to rule the galaxy in their place and you want revenge against the Emperor, it works out beautifully," he stated.

"You won't give up until you get your way, will you?" she asked. "I don't have to rely on you entirely, there are plenty of Jedi eager to do away with the Emperor if given the chance. You could be left out of the loop as far as a chance at revenge is concerned," he answered menacingly. "Do not try to use blackmail on me, little man!" she hissed as she grabbed his neck with her mechanical arm.

Thrusting him against a wall whilst strangulating him, she made sure that he knew better than to blackmail her like that again. Troops gathered to try and stop her but he ordered them off for whatever strange reason he had for doing it. "Perhaps I was too hasty in my words, let me go and I will propose a better offer for you," he requested with surprising calmness in his voice. "Let's hear it," she said after letting go.

"I can offer you and Hoar lifetime benefits, no taxation of any kind for as long as you live. Hoar can spend his days drinking Korriban fire whiskey like water after a good hunt. You can spend your days in peace with him or by yourself if you decide to release him from any debts he may owe you. However, the best part is that is so simple to obtain: capture or kill the Emperor and it will all be yours along with lifetime protection from the Empire's loyalist forces," he explained.

"Lifetime protection given by you and your son? You can barely protect yourselves, what makes you think you can protect me? On top of that, do you really think it's as simple as kill the Emperor and all the galaxy will be yours? Even if I succeed, Vader will just rise up to take his place and destroy you in the process or if not him, someone else.

"Anyone in the chain of command pertaining of Force-sensitives will be eager to make a grab and some Grand Admiral might give it a shot as well. I could very easily see you falling to Vice Admiral Thrawn and he's not even as high on the chain as you are now. It never ends Zaarin unless the galaxy is destroyed in the process and all life is lost forevermore in this Force-forsaken universe!" she replied. "Then I guess that means you aren't with us?" he asked.

_Do I really have a choice but to join this pathetic little mongrel who's hungry for power and has a son that's just as eager?_ she asked herself silently. "I will but for a price: if I kill Palpatine, I must be allowed to take over his rule in order to insure that the chain I mentioned doesn't begin. Better that the galaxy know the face behind the hands that killed him than the man who helped them there. Trust me on this, I was the leader of a growing empire myself once and it crumbled around me in almost the same fashion I spoke of after my husband (its leader) fell to Jedi blades," she answered aloud.

Demetrius looked disappointed in this revelation but she told herself that she shouldn't have expected anything else from him. Sighing, she could tell that he was stuck in a dilemma: if he accepted her terms, he would never be the heir to the Empire he wished to be. If he didn't, not only was he out one rogue Force-sensitive but if he succeeded without her, it would be only some time before he fell. Which was the lesser of two evils?... that was the question to be asked now rather than "could it be done?".

"Perhaps when he is no more, we can do a joint-rulership. I would be the military and economical face of our new operations and you would dictate the rest," he suggested rather suddenly. _Hm, I can't handle everything by myself and he does have more experience in those areas then me_ she observed quietly. "Keep that thought until after we win but for now, I will join you-I hardly have any other choice anyway," she said aloud.

"I'm glad you have agreed and you are wise to suggest that we hold onto that thought for later. Our concentration should be on the here and now where it belongs at any rate," he agreed with a nod. "Excellent, show me to my quarters please. I would like some time to meditate on our next course of action against the Emperor," she requested.

"As you wish, Arden. I will arrange for a separate chamber for Hoar as well unless you'd rather have him near you," he said. "No, give him his own place to stay. He will be needing it during his time of adjustment to a new lifestyle," she said. "As you wish, milady," he replied with a bow.

"Here are some of the latest designs that my father has engineered for the upcoming coup. Before his decision to defect and overthrow the Emperor, he was one of the most brilliant designers of military weapons ever," Paris said. "Enough, enough, I only need to know whether or not they have been field-tested and can hold against the Emperor's forces," Hoar replied. "Well of course they have been tested for effectiveness and they have passed a hundred percent," Paris stated proudly.

"Good, is there anymore I need to be toured in or can I just go to the sparring chambers you got and work on my form? Arden told me to always be ready to use my martial arts against an enemy and I'd hate to be rusted in battle," Hoar asked. "Of course, if you'll follow me this way then I'll be glad to show you where the chambers," Paris answered. The two of them initially walked in silence for a little bit but when they arrived at the sparring chambers, Paris was the first to speak up.

"Is Arden Lyn as much a hardcase as she appears to be or does she get better when you get to know her?" he asked. "She gets better with time but remember that she has had a lot on her plate. After all, she was first placed into a twenty-five thousand-year-long hibernation by Jedi. She was revived during the Clone Wars to an alien galaxy that had long forgotten her and her people forever.

"Then she placed herself into yet another hibernation to save herself from freezing to death in her escape pod in the Void of the Universe when her forces were destroyed. Fifteen years, that hibernation lasted before she awaken to watch her first apprentice be cut down by enemies. Finally, her hibernating days came to an end when she meditated for six months as grief for all that she had lost," Hoar replied. "Damn, that is truly hard and did she have anyone else that she loved during that time- another man, I mean?" Paris continued.

"One though he was slain by Jedi shortly before her first hibernation as she stood helplessly and watched it happen," Hoar admitted. "Now I feel almost ashamed that I want to get to know her better with such a history under her belt," Paris stated. "Trust me, it's nothing to be ashamed of as you think it is now," Hoar replied. "You really believe that, Hoar?" Paris inquired.

"Of course, I have been with her almost longer than any of her other students and I have seen her evolve from a confused, unknowing child of the past to the great woman you see now. There is much to her that I think you'll like when she grows to love you as you love her now," Hoar explained. Paris looked at him in surprise and Hoar admitted that he knew Paris was falling for Arden Lyn even if she didn't. "But don't worry, I'll let you tell her for yourself," he added before turning his attention to the sparring equipment he wanted to use.

Paris thought about that, wondering how a Tusken Raider who must surely be his own unique species understand the feelings of a human better than the human did himself. But he decided to find a way to take his mind off it as fast as possible and asked Hoar if he could train him in his martial arts. "Terras Kasi is not suited for everyone nor is my variant of it but I think you have the physical material for a start, at least," Hoar said. Then he ordered Paris to come close by and watch his movements carefully as he wouldn't be repeating them.

Paris did just that and soon got a hang of some of the sequences that Hoar showed him in his application of Terras Kasi's Variant of the Snake. "It is called this because it is more based on speed and agility as well as having the fluidity of a snake while the Variant of the Rancor is based on strength. You have the build of a man of agility though you are surprisingly strong nonetheless so I guess it wouldn't hurt to show you the basics of the Variant of the Rancor if you wish," Hoar explained. "You really think that I could master the two styles?" Paris asked.

"I don't know about mastering as it takes years to get one down right but if you commit your time to it, I don't see why you wouldn't become very skilled," Hoar answered. Paris smiled and asked Hoar to show him the basics of the Variant of the Rancor and that was just what the Tusken Raider did. The boy became very natural with the Variant of the Rancor though Hoar could immediately see that he was more at home with the Variant of the Snake like Hoar himself was. A little more sparring and the two then had their fill of the martial arts known as Terras Kasi, their bellies aching for food soon after.

Five and a half months later...

"It would seem as though Admiral Harkov is turning on us, Lord Vader. As if that wasn't bad enough, he is joining the Rebels for their struggle against our Empire!" Palpatine seethed. "I will deal with him immediately, milord," Vader vowed._ I disposed of Prince Xizor with relative ease, this should be no problem at all_ the Sith apprentice thought silently.

"You have already captured him and intend to destroy his fleet once you have dealt with him, I take it?" Palpatine asked. "Yes Master, all traces of his defection will be wiped cleaned from the galaxy before this is over," Vader answered. "It could be some time before his remaining ships are found again, are you willing to postpone your search for Skywalker until then?" Palpatine inquired. Vader hadn't thought about that happening although he should have guessed that it would happen soon.

His obsession for the young boy now revealed to be his son had taken an especially great height after their duel on Bespin's Cloud City. There was no way that Luke would be allowed to escape the clutches of the Emperor and his ability to ensnare while Vader was hunting him. _For now Luke, you are free from my ever-searching eyes but do not relish this freedom for too long_ Vader thought. "Yes Master, Admiral Harkov is a greater threat at the moment than the Jedi who assists the Rebel Alliance in its efforts to overthrow us," he said aloud to his Master.

"So many battles, so many victories and yet I am worried about the defeats that have come along. I really truly wish this rebellion would be destroyed now and that there was no reason for Admirals to make their defection. But I guess I can't help that now, can I?" Palpatine asked rhetorically. "I wouldn't know Master, I am not the Emperor who rules over dozens of star systems with an iron fist," Vader answered politely.

"Your time will come and you will know the responsibilities I have as well as I do now. But while you are hunting the remnants of Harkov's fleet, see what you can do about Arden Lyn. It's been six months since she disappeared from our sight, attacking the priest of Bunduki in the process of that. I've grown fearful that she may have found someone with the might to put up a good show for us all," Palpatine requested.

"As you wish, Master," Vader replied with a bow before leaving to deal with Admiral Harkov's forces. The Admiral himself had been brave and defiant in the face of his death but no match for Vader's Force Choke like many before him that had also braved the Dark Lord's fury and failed. However, he couldn't help but wonder what his Master had meant when he stated that Vader's time to rule would come. Was the old man finally on his last straws?

Vader thought about this and then remembered the way of the Sith and how the strong must always suppress the weak. Was Vader's time to suppress Palpatine and snuff his life out coming? Would he at last receive the revenge he had long awaited for the death of his beloved Padme all those years ago? It was food for thought that began to excite Vader almost as much as the thrill of chasing down young Skywalker himself.

**"You know Paris, ever** since we became friends I have to admit that I misjudged you on many things. And I misjudged you very badly, I might add," Arden said to her new lover. "Women have a way of doing that around me quite a lot, you're not the first. But I have to admit that I misjudged you as well and probably more badly than ever you could hope to misjudge me," Paris replied.

Since meeting, the two of them became excellent friends in a matter of two months and both formed attraction for one another one month after. So comfortable had Arden become with Paris-and vice versa- that Arden had even destroyed her wedding ring from Xendor and made love to Paris. Awakening from such session of sex, Arden had to admit that it was rejuvenating to finally be a young woman and not a hardened warrior of the Force for once in a great long time. With Paris, she felt like the universe melted away and she could be what she was when given a chance to relax.

However, she sensed that her ability to relax was closing and that she would soon need to become the hardened warrior once more. Demetrius had told them that it was only a matter of time before his insurrection against the Emperor began. The implications of that were simple: Arden and Paris could be permanently separated during the battles to follow. They might have the possibility of never being able to see each other again at least until it was over and might not be a family before then.

"Paris, we will have to separate very soon and you know what? I want Hoar to accompany you wherever you go so that if Vader or an Emperor's Hand show up, you have better defenses with you. Against someone like one of those two perils, your troops would be no match and I want the guarantee that there is someone there who can hold their own against them even if it isn't me," she explained. "I understand my love, I've become accustomed to having Hoar follow me around anyway," he stated.

"Good, I'll go inform him that I want him near you immediately," she said. Before he could object, she placed a nightgown over her naked body and marched to Hoar's room for a chat. Knocking on his door, she was glad to hear him tell her to come in rather than have to walk to the sparring room. True that he was still practicing his martial arts but he was working on the more subtle intricacies of Terras Kasi when she arrived to speak to him.

"Hoar, you still feel bound to me by the life-debt you owe me?" she asked. "Of course I'm bound to you in that honorable way, why wouldn't I be?" he replied. "Good but I didn't come to release you from it, I came to ask you if you would be willing to accept a way to pay it fully. I have something I want you to do once Demetrius' insurrection against the Emperor begins," she said.

"Sure, just say the word and I'll do it," he stated. "I want you to stay with Paris wherever he goes, volunteer your life for him as you would for me. If we fail to capture or kill the Emperor, I'd rather be on the run or dead knowing that you are protecting my love then knowing he's vulnerable to Vader. Or for that matter, an Emperor's Hand sent to deal with him in Vader's place," she explained.

Hoar paused from his exercises, clearly this was something heavy and he would need to think about it a great deal though he needed to answer her sooner rather than later. _I hope I haven't crossed the limit with what I can ask of him, Tuskens aren't exactly great when they're angry_ she thought. "Paris Zaarin is a friend of mine just as he is your lover, I would fight with him even if I am no longer bound by honor to serve you," Hoar answered at last. "Thank you, thank you so much for everything; you are a dear friend, Hoar," she said, hugging him soon after saying that.

"I am a warrior of Tatooine, I'm supposed to keep up all the bonds I develop for they are what strengthen my resolve more than anything else," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her as well. "Demetrius says we'll be moving against the Emperor and his forces very soon, it's a matter of figuring out how to at least incapacitate Lord Vader if he can't be eliminated entirely," she stated. "In that case, I shall wait for your signal to join Paris for the battles he will go on in the meantime," he replied. "We have had many great adventures Hoar, may any entrance to the afterlife be honorable for you," she said.

"If it's necessary that I do that, I could care less the smoothness of the entrance so long as I fight honorably," he said. "You should care, you deserve a reprieve from the wounds of the past," she told him. "Trust me, you need that more than I do considering your long lifespan," he retorted. She laughed and embraced him once more before going back to her own room where Paris awaited.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

Demetrius knew that the timing for his attack had to be impeccable in order for the insurrection to even have a chance of survival. So when Vader ordered his forces to destroy the remainder of traitorous Admiral Harkov's fleet, he knew that he had to snatch it up if he didn't want to be in danger. "Remember troopers, have all batteries ready to fire upon Vader's ship the moment he orders us to fire on Harkov. We will have him by surprise then and we need him immobilized before we can ever hope to take on the Emperor," he ordered.

However, Demetrius would not be leading the attack. Instead, that would belong to a longtime friend of his who had shared similar feelings about the Emperor. His name was Agamemnon and he had vowed that he would either wipe out Lord Vader's forces along with the Rebel Alliance's or die trying. "Maarek Stele is most likely going to be with him for this, be careful," Demetrius warned. Agamemnon nodded his acknowledgement of this warning and Demetrius called another friend named Gaston.

"I need you to be ready to intercept Lord Vader's forces should he somehow survive Agamemnon's attack," Demetrius said directly. "Yes Admiral, I'll be ready at the Parmel system to stall them until you make your attack on Imperial Center," Gaston replied with a bow as well. "Good, is everything in position for our assault on the Emperor's headquarters?" Demetrius asked to all the crew. "Yes sir, we only await the arrival of Arden Lyn and the Emperor's exit of the planet in the Majestic," was the reply.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get Arden up here and have our ships ready to launch into hyperspace the moment my son reports the Emperor's departure," Demetrius ordered. "She's already said her goodbyes and is on her way here as we speak sir," replied one crew member. _Perfect, she wasn't too love stricken by my son to remember her duty and her place in this cause_ he thought.

"Sir, Arden Lyn's cruiser has entered the main hangar bay and she's making her way to the bridge now. She doesn't have the Tusken Raider in tow with her, if that is of any interest to you," another crew member said after some silence. "What do you mean?" Demetrius asked. "She appears to have come alone though she usually doesn't as far as we have known," the crew member answered.

_Likely she left him behind to be a guardian for my son while she is away, guess I shouldn't be surprised that she would do that. But does she really think she is powerful enough to take on the Emperor by himself even if we do help her by pinning his ship down?_ he asked himself. It was something he was going to have to ask her in the privacy of his chambers, seeing as she had said that the Emperor would be a worthy adversary for any man or woman attuned to the Force. However, he suddenly remembered that Hoar himself wasn't Force-sensitive thus, better suited somewhere else.

When she arrived, she simply said hello to him and he had to admit that he was a little amazed to see her in a jumpsuit. The top was had an orange breastplate on it that ran all the way down to her pelvis then came back around the other side to be parallel on her back with shoulders exposed. Her mechanical arm was attached with the help of another strip of strong leather that was equally orange. Its strip covered one of her shoulders that would normally have been exposed by her dress.

She also had boots with the orange color and the only things that prevented the entirety of her clothing being orange were the green stripes running from above her pelvis to her knees. "You look radiant Arden, is that a cloth design based on what you grew up knowing from the Palawa?" he asked. He was truly curious to where she got such a strange taste from and when she answered, he knew at once that it was designed as a reminder of her early days indeed. "We'll soon be ready to make our move against the Emperor, it's only a matter of time before the reports come in that signal us," he said.

"I'm ready," she replied. She did indeed look ready to face the Emperor with the lightsabers clipped at her belt but something else was in her eye. It wasn't fear, that much he could detect immediately or at least not fear of the Emperor and what he could do. Did she fear for Paris' life?

Was she so madly in love with him after six months with him that she would give her life with him? Or was there something else that she and Paris were not telling Demetrius that he would need to know? Suddenly, it occurred to him what it might be when he saw her rubbing her stomach slightly and not noticeably to anyone else. "You're pregnant, aren't you?" he asked in a whisper.

She looked up at him in surprise that he would ask such a question of her but the look was all Demetrius needed to confirm that she was. "My son has tried before to have children with women he professed to love. All of them ended in miscarriages or stillbirths but I'm sure you'll find a way to avoid that fate," he stated in the same whispering tone. Arden continued to rub her stomach in thought of that and had to admit that she herself wasn't looking forward to the risks associated with being pregnant.

"Sir, we have forces ready to be set up at any other frontiers that you desire. You did suggest that we make a series of simultaneous attacks in order to catch the Empire off guard," a captain stated. "Yes I did, send those extra forces to Omar, ZA-13, and RS-32: see if they can capture any of those important frontiers for us," Demetrius ordered. The captain saluted him but Zaarin told him not to launch anything until his forces had engaged Palpatine at Imperial Center which he would make sure to report.

Once again, the hologram of the captain saluted him and cut transmission to make sure that his orders were obeyed. Then another hologram came, this time from Agamemnon who had went into hyperspace shortly after his talk with Demetrius. "We have arrived at Ottega and we will be engaging Vader's forces shortly," he said. "Excellent, engage when ready," Demetrius said.

There was no turning back now, he and Arden Lyn both knew this to be true of their coup d'etat. _I hope she's up to the challenge of bringing the Emperor down by herself_ he thought but didn't say. "Without further ado, ladies and gentleman, let us jump to lightspeed and head for Imperial Center. Will the Emperor be there in time for our ambush?" he asked.

"Yes sir, according to hacked communications that we are receiving, he will be there within the minute or so before our arrival," a crew member answered. "Then let's not keep him waiting, jump to lightspeed when ready," Demetrius ordered. And that was just what the fleet he was commanding for the attack on Imperial Center did. They had crossed the rubicon now, there was no going back for Demetrius or Arden; the latter clutched her belly once again in the hope that they would survive this.

**For Lord Vader, the** raid on what remained of Admiral Harkov's success was a magnificent success. He had prevented the traitors from fleeing from him and even brought in the _Akaga_, a brilliant Nebula-B frigate of terrible power, to help finish them off. Now he needed the taskforce that Admiral Zaarin would be sending to assist him in the complete annihilation of Harkov's traitorous forces. However, victory soon became near-disaster as Zaarin's forces began bombarding the _Garrett_, his ship, rather than the_ Protector_ which they had been ordered to destroy.

Finding out that the leader of this taskforce was Captain Agamemnon, a close friend of Demetrius Zaarin and a frequent supporter in his missions. "Captain, what is the meaning of this treason? Halt your fire immediately and turn it on the Protector at once!" he ordered once he had a transmission. "In good time, Lord Vader, in good time: my orders are to deal with you first," Agamemnon replied calmly before disconnecting transmission abruptly.

_Admiral Zaarin has defected and has turned several officers against us, Agamemnon being only one of the more obvious. Something's not right, he's attacking me first and not the Emperor_ Vader observed. That's when it hit him: Zaarin knew that if Vader combined his strength with the Emperor, he would have stood no chance in destroying them. He was trying to incapacitate or destroy Vader first before then turning his eye towards the Emperor for an easier killing.

"All loyal Imperial forces, it would seem as though we have a new enemy. Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin and his son have betrayed the Empire and command Captain Agamemnon to kill us. We must destroy Agamemnon and his fighters first before turning our eyes back toward Harkov's forces, if at all possible," Vader ordered in a transmission to his forces. But then he noticed the Alliance was taking this opportunity to have Harkov's ships retreat and let Zaarin have at Vader and his army.

"Lord Vader to Colonel Maarek Stele, repeat Lord Vader to Colonel Maarek Stele, come in. The Harpax has already been taken down but I need you to intercept the Protector before they escape, over and out!" Vader ordered. "Copy that Lord Vader, I'll have them down and out of commission in no time," was the immediate response from the young pilot. _Excellent, now I can rest easy and turn my eye back to Zaarin's forces and deal with Agamemnon_ Vader thought calmly.

One of the corvettes sent to stop him contained Agamemnon and he knew it, the only matter being to find out which one it was. So he ordered his crew to hit all of the corvettes at once with a wave of cannonfire that nothing could dodge once in it. "I need Alpha, Theta, and Rho Squads to destroy Tau and Mu squadron from the insurrectionist forces or at least stall them until Colonel Stele returns. Gamma, Pi, and Rho: I need you to engage the Gamma-class ATR-6 assault transports," Vader ordered.

When the leader of every squad checked in and confirmed reception of his orders, he checked on Stele to see his progress in destroying Protector. "Almost finished Lord Vader, I'll be able to return and help you with the insurrectionists immediately after," Maarek answered. "Excellent but keep an eye out for any Rebel reinforcements and destroy them," Vader told him. "With pleasure sir, may I put in a request for one of the squads if it turns out to be too much for me?" Maarek asked.

"I'll have Pi Squad on standby in case you make the request," Vader answered. "Copy that, sir," Maarek said before cutting transmission and returning to deal with his target, the_ Protector_. Luckily for Lord Vader, more than half of the Admiral Harkov's forces were already wiped out or he would not have said that. All the starfighter squads and cargo containers were vaporized, _Akaga_ was gone, with _Protector_ about to follow suit. _Whell_ and _Waq_ were out of the picture as well as the other two heavy lifters with which the latter was categorized.

_Warhawk_ was also destroyed early on in the battle which just left _Protector_ as well as the insurrectionist forces of Admiral Zaarin. "Wipe them out, wipe them out to the last man!" Vader ordered in concern to Zaarin's forces. Soon though, the reports of Mu and Tau Squads being destroyed came in and it wasn't long before the ATR-6 assault transports followed suit. By this time, Vader had also destroyed Bakaar 1 through 3 of the corvettes and severely damaged _Falcon_ 1.

However, Agamemnon was soon back on and mocking Lord Vader for having not found him yet. "The Emperor chose you to be his executioner when the best you can do is this?" he asked Vader. "There is one thing I can do to remedy that immediately," Vader answered. He grabbed Agamemnon's throat with the Force and watched as several officers tried to help him out of it.

Then one officer made the mistake of naming the ship that Agamemnon was on while the transmission was still on: _Arditi_ 2 was the corvette to hit. Nonetheless, Vader would hit them all anyway and when he heard that Maarek had succeeded he was motivated further. Two Alliance corvettes, two _Delta_-class JV-7 shuttles joined them, and 3 B-wing starfighters came out of hyperspace after that. However, Maarek dispatched these with ease while Vader wiped out the remaining corvettes thus destroying Agamemnon in his before the battle is over.

When Maarek returned, Vader immediately handpicked him and five other elite pilots for a special mission. He knew the _Garrett_ was too heavily damaged for another engagement and he ordered the crew to take it to the nearest loyal repair facility. "It seems as if Zaarin has developed some dangerous plans, and we believe the Emperor to be in great danger. I want you to join me, Colonel, on an urgent mission. You have trained in the new starfighter.

"I want you to accompany me and break through Zaarin's lines. I must get to Coruscant immediately," Vader said upon Maarek and the pilots arriving. "Yes sir, I will do what I must to serve the Empire," Maarek vowed as did the other pilots. Smiling beneath his mask, Vader boarded his starfighter and took off for the rescue of the Emperor from Admiral Zaarin.

**Palpatine sensed something wrong** going on with Lord Vader's fight against Harkov's forces but he trusted him to solve it for himself as he always did. "Inquisitor Tremayne, perhaps you should consider taking a break from your hunt for Arden Lyn. I have another task for you at the moment," he said immediately. "Yes milord, what can I do?" Tremayne asked.

"I would like you to come aboard the _Majestic_ with me and journey to Korriban. I could use some company that is capable of killing Jedi in my search for the valuables there," Palpatine answered. "My life revolves only around serving the Master who has but to command and I shall do," Tremayne replied. "Excellent, the ship is ready to go and now we only need to join it through a shuttle we'll be taking from here," Palpatine stated.

"Master, forgive me for saying so but do you not fear the threat Arden Lyn poses while loose?" Tremayne inquired. "I would be a fool not to be afraid of what her powers mean for me now that she is rogue. However, I choose to use that fear fuel my strength and hasten my rise to victory over her through not brute force as would be her domain but sheer cunning," Palpatine explained. _She seems to be pretty cunning to me but I will not point that out, my liege_ Tremayne thought silently.

But indeed, she did seem very cunning for she had commanded the most powerful team of Terras Kasi masters that the Empire or anyone could ever produce. They had done so well as to be able to beat back the Followers of Palawa who originated the ancient fighting style. That could not be done through sheer brutality and force alone but through the cunning of a powerful military figure. And powerful, Arden was in not only the Force but in that aspect as well which made hunting her exciting.

Tremayne lusted for a good challenge and she was the only one besides his Jedi nemesis to have ever injured him and lived to tell about it. But now Torbin was not here to stop Tremayne from killing her and he still felt the passionate vengeance needed for that. "I understand Master but I will be on standby in case she shows up, I have a score to settle anyway," he said aloud. "As I would want you to, Inquisitor Tremayne," Palpatine replied.

**"If this fails, Zaarin,** I don't know if I'll be able to rejoin you. I may have to beat my own retreat and separate from you to save you the trouble of having anyone Sith hunting you too," Arden warned. "Much as I hate to admit it, you are right and I am prepared to accept that if that is what it comes to," Demetrius said. "If we win though, perhaps we can discuss the joint rule that you mentioned earlier," Arden suggested.

"Don't think too far forward, we still need to kill the Emperor and take his reins over. We'll also need to deal with Lord Vader if Agamemnon hasn't already done so. Lastly, there's securing the loyalties of the Imperial forces or else destroying them as well as possibly the Alliance," he explained. "Understandable, very understandable and how long before we're out of hyperspace?" she asked.

"We should be out any minute now," he answered. Sure enough, they were out of lightspeed just as soon as he said that to her. The _Majestic_, Palpatine's personal Star Destroyer, lay directly in front of them which worked perfectly for Zaarin who ordered his men to open fire. Zaarin, knowing the cruiser wasn't hanging solo, ordered his Z-Alpha Squadron to counter any other TIE fighter squadrons. Sure enough, Zeta and Eta Squadrons came to the Emperor's defense but Z-Alpha had the numbers to counter them.

"All escort shuttles, had for the cannons and knock out the shields on the _Majestic_. I'll go for their engines with _Glory_ and knock them out when you have the enemy in position," he added. "Copy that," was the reply from the leaders of the groups. "What do you intend to have them do once they succeed?" Arden asked.

"The troopers on board will be joining you in wiping out all stormtroopers on the Majestic while you fight the Emperor yourself. You don't want the troopers risking their lives anymore greatly by helping you than they are already are without doing it, correct?" he replied. She nodded and saw that the shuttle were already almost done with their part, _Haven_ 3 being recalled to pick Arden up. However, as she prepared to march down and meet it, Zaarin called out to Arden and asked her to come close to him so that only she could hear him speak.

"Be careful with that baby on board, you don't want it distracting you in your fighting or putting you in any pain," he whispered. "Not to worry, it's only a couple days along. Hardly anything to affect my fighting in even the obvious ways," she replied. Smiling, he wished her luck and let her go to the business of marching down to the shuttle and fight the Emperor as he wished.

"I sense the presence of Arden Lyn in all of this, indeed she has allied herself with treacherous foes of the Empire. Perhaps now is your chance for revenge, Inquisitor Tremayne," Palpatine stated. The distress signal from the _Majestic_'s communication board had already been sent and now it was just a matter of time before Vader and reinforcements arrived. "I'm ready, I'll kill that bitch where she stands!" Tremayne hissed.

"It won't be that easy but she will fail today, all the same," Palpatine told him. Tremayne smiled, knowing that even if Arden did miraculously defeat the two of them, she would not survive. The Empire would live beyond her attempt on their lives and prosper as it ever did before or would in the future. _Bring the fight on you stupid little bitch, Grand Inquisitor Torbin isn't here to save you now_ Tremayne thought to himself eagerly.

**"Mayday! Mayday! This is** the Star Destroyer _Majestic_, we have been boarded by Imperial traitors," was the signal that Thrawn had received. Zaarin has gone and turned rogue just as I anticipated he would after hearing about how he recruited Arden Thrawn thought silently.

"Star Destroyer Majestic, this is Vice Admiral Thrawn the commander of _Vanguard_ and supervisor of the corvette _Mescue_. I have received your signal and am en route to Imperial Center now, over and out," Thrawn said before giving the according orders to his crew. The lightspeed trip would be a quick one since he had already ordered his captain to take over mapping the Unknown Regions.

As a result, the transfer to becoming the reinforcements of the Emperor was swift and easy as well as efficient. Now he could focus on the true obsession of his life, getting Arden Lyn back under his wing so he could use her Battle Meditation for his own design. Ever since he saw it in action against the Yuuzhan Vong enemy twenty-three years ago, he had desired to keep it under his grasp. It was an obsession that gnawed at his being even now as he was close to achieving his goals in the Empire.

_I just hope I have an opportunity to capture you and take you as my prisoner, Arden Lyn. The Emperor will be most pleased to hear that I wish to imprison you forever_ he thought excitedly.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

The Emperor was caught off guard by Tremayne being thrown around and beat up like a rag doll before Arden even entered his bridge but not helpless. After all, he was the most powerful Sith Lord in history and the most likely to be unrivaled for all time as he liked telling himself. As the power of Arden's telekinesis throttled Inquisitor Tremayne unconscious, his lightsaber rolled next to Sidious. Smiling, the old man called it to his left hand with the Force and let his own saber slide from its place of concealment in his right sleeve.

Then, when he and Arden would both know that Inquisitor Tremayne would not be intervening in this fight, he saw the door to his bridge slide open to reveal the woman. "I am most impressed that you would return with a traitorous Grand Admiral to stop me now," he said. Indeed he was, he had been more expecting Arden to work alone or only with Hoar and not in cahoots with Demetrius Zaarin. "Save your breath while you still have it, Emperor Palpatine: you'll be needing it," she replied to him.

She unclipped both her lightsabers and ignited them, the green and orange blades hissing to life for the first time since her mission to Bunduki, six months before. Sidious smiled again and ignited both his lightsaber and Tremayne's, prepared to face Arden Lyn as an equal. But when she attacked first, the ferocity of the attack was hard to keep up with even for Lord Sidious of the Sith. He was amazed by the speed of the spinning of her blades and the power of the slashes and stabs she sometimes threw.

No doubt, she had been a great fighter in her day and an impossible adversary for most Jedi to overcome without the slightest bit of cunning. Which was why he tried his best to disarm her but first kicking her and then catching her off guard with a barrage of stabs, spins, and twirls of both his blades. But she easily recovered from the kick in time to deflect one of his slashes and hack at him with one of her blades, quickly forcing him on the defensive for a few seconds. The Dark Lord of the Sith easily recovered from this, dodging her attempt to trip him and jabbing both blades at her simultaneously.

It was when she dodged this and replied with a kick that didn't miss that he began to get a clearer idea of her fighting style. He hadn't doubted that she was a master of Terras Kasi due to her time training other students in it but she was much like Maul in her passion and aggression. Sidious remembered destroying Maul with relatively little effort and vowed to do the same to Arden Lyn now. Nonetheless, Arden surprised him in how she held him literally pinned down on one knee with solely the strength of her arms bearing her blades to cross with his when he attempted to slash from underneath.

It seemed apparent to Sidious that the strategy he used to defeat Darth Maul on Mandalore after dealing with his monster brother Savage Opress was not going to work on Arden Lyn. So instead, he resorted to a high kick to her pelvis from his bent foot and free himself from the crossing. Arden temporarily stopped to heal the pain in her pelvis and lower abdominal region before she continued. He wondered why such a hesitation would exist in her but he didn't really care for that much at all.

Until she came back with an attack even more ferocious than her last one, he was more than willing to overlook her moment of hesitation. The ferocious agility and power of her lightsaber attack was actually more than enough to disarm him of Tremayne's lightsaber. Then he managed to destroy the green blade she wielded by slicing the hilt in half, forcing her to resort to just one lightsaber. But her skill with just the one was equal to, if not better than, her skills in Jar'Kai lightsaber combat.

He recognized mastery of Shii-Cho, Ataru, and Vaapad as well as expertise in Niman, Makashi, and Shien. And when he managed to gain the upperhand in offense for a brief moment, he saw mastery of Soresu as well which indicated to him a very educated woman in lightsaber technique. Her usage of Vaapad alone reminded him of Master Windu, the inventor of the style, only with more agility, power, and grace than the foolish Jedi had had. True that Windu had been able to defeat Sidious with this form all the same but Sidious had allowed him to in order to complete Vader's metamorphosis.

He was not about to allow Arden Lyn, a user of Vaapad and other forms of saber combat who likely learned it from someone who knew them as he did, to beat him with it this time. But his curiosity for knowledge compelled him to see if he could distract Arden Lyn and weaken her ferocity. "You are skilled in the way of the lightsaber for a twenty-five thousand-year-old woman. Did you learn Vaapad from a Jedi who knew it when you were reawakened?" Sidious asked.

"Depa Billaba was my apprentice in exchange for tips on lightsaber combat, now stop talking and keep fighting!" Arden answered. Now Sidious knew: this Arden Lyn and the one who had apprenticed Depa Billaba during the Clone Wars were one and the same. This had been an ally of Maul's Shadow Collective and helped them repel General Grievous on Mustafar before disappearing. "You know Arden, it was I who killed Darth Maul and Savage Opress, twenty-one years ago on Mandalore," he mocked with a smile.

"It was a man named Darth Sidious, do not try to fool me!" Arden shouted. Then she continued her barrage of Vaapad and Sidious merely laughed. "You foolish girl, the public knows me as Emperor Palpatine but my true name-the name of the Sith- is Darth Sidious. Yes, I killed Maul and Savage on Mandalore before seeking you and your apprentice out with the help of Admiral Thrawn," Sidious said.

Arden tried her best to shut off what he was saying about the events of the Shadow Collective's downfall but he knew that she had sensed no lie in what he said. "Thrawn would have sold you out to me because he knew then as he does now that I could destroy him with my pinky if I desired. He wanted you so you could help fulfill his own ambitions but was more than willing to let me have you. You have served me well Arden Lyn, whether or not you turn against me now but unfortunately, your betrayal has forced me to destroy you," Sidious mocked.

"Silence, I don't give a shit about how I helped you! I am here to either capture or kill you now and quite frankly, I could have done that the very moment I met you!" she screamed. Her scream was imbued with the Power of the Force and Sidious watched as everything nearby was destroyed. At this point, his surprise began to become a distraction to him and he knew his desire to anger her worked.

However, the ferocity that she came back with after giving into her anger was more than he could take with just his lightsaber abilities and occasional volleys of Force lightning. So he deactivated his own lightsaber and levitated himself to a great enough height to begin using Dun Moch on her. However, when he threw the items that he could she caught them with the Force and threw them at another item he threw or else at him directly. "My husband tried that on me when my Force powers proved too powerful for just his sword alone, you fight just like that," she replied.

But the way she said it wasn't out of rage or hatred of any kind: it was to mock him like he had been doing earlier. Troubled, he did his best to keep up with her but she surprised him by creating green projections of her mechanical hand with the Force and using them to literally punch objects back at him. Whenever she wasn't doing that, she was trying to use the projections to grab him as though she had become a giant and was seeking to squish him. But he repelled these illusions with volleys of Force Lightning though he soon saw that these were only distractions from the real threat she created.

Using the objects he had levitated for his technique of Dun Moch, she had jumped up to where he was near the ceiling of the_ Majestic_'s bridge and tackle him out of the air. Landing near the door to exit the bridge, Sidious tried to escape but Arden used a laser from her artificial hand to stop him. She did this by shooting it at the controls that would open or close the door, frying them upon impact. "No Emperor, in order to get out of this ship, you're going to have to defeat me first," Arden warned.

Sidious tried to reach for his lightsaber since he had put it aside earlier but it wasn't in the sleeve. Likely, it had fallen out when Arden tackled him to the ground and she had then used the Force to throw it out of sight. Or worse, maybe she had vaporized it with one of the green bolts she could shoot out of her artificial arm. Nonetheless, he knew that he would have to rely on his Force powers as well as possibly his hand-to-hand combat skills.

It turned out to be the latter when Arden attacked him with a variant of Terras Kasi that he recognized and knew very well: the Variant of the Snake. She also switched off to attack him with the Variant of the Rancor but he was able to counter both with the Variant of the Absorber and Assassin. "You are gifted in Terras Kasi, tell me how many Variants do you know?" she asked, mocking him again as he had mocked her earlier. "I know them all of course!" he exclaimed, countering with her attacks with the Variant of the Ralltiir Tiger as he spoke.

However, Arden countered his usage of it with her own mastery of the Variant of the Bha'lir in combination to the Ice Tiger. Sidious desperately tried to stop her and nearly did when he caught her a little off guard by switching between the Variant of the Hrosma Tiger and Rock Lion. It was when he tried to fight with the Variant of the Gundark that she laughed and was amazed that he would go there. "You are so desperate to win that you would use one of the basic Terras Kasi forms with intent to catch me off guard?" she asked mockingly.

"I told you that I know all the Variants of Terras Kasi, I taught them to Darth Maul when I raised him," he answered, trying to keep calm. "All the classic variants, I can tell. But you do not know the forbidden Variant nor the one designed to counter it," she said. Before he could ask what she was talking about, he was introduced to the Variant of Anger which overwhelmed him immediately.

Sidious had known all the classic Variants as well as the Sub-Variants beneath those, in fact, he had been using some of the Sub-Variants before. He knew that there was the Way of the Animal, which all the Variants they had used before fit in except for the Absorber and the Assassin. The Dark Lord of the Sith also knew that there was the Way of the Warrior and the Way of Emotion. Way of Emotion was the often considered the Way that held some of the most powerful Terras Kasi Variants ever.

Unfortunately, the Variant of Anger wasn't helping to disprove that either as it seemed all his skills in the Animal Variants were coming undone before the power of this one Emotion Variant. "How in the universe is this possible!?" he demanded. "Why does everyone keep asking that whenever I use the Variant of Anger against a fellow Terras Kasi Master?" she retorted. That comment indicated that she had used it before and had plenty of time to master it to the perfection she had it now.

But then she began to do something different, she became calmer of mind and her attacks were less based on the fury of her anger- as per the name Variant of Anger- and more on tactical analysis. She introduced it as the Variant of Serenity since to wield it, one had to be very calm and cool of mind rather than controlled by raw emotion. Sidious tried his best to use the Variant of Anger, having observed similarities in it to other forms but found he just couldn't quite grasp it. But he knew it was over the moment Arden started using yet another Variant that she said she had been working.

"It's a combination of the Variant of Anger and the Variant of Serenity that allows one to remained mentally collected whilst drawing upon their anger for their strength. I have not yet given it a name yet but I think it's time I field-tested it against someone," Arden told him. There was no lie in that he sensed, she had likely worked on this during the six months after her disappearance.

To him, it was more than possible that she had discovered the Variant of Serenity whilst fighting the priests and wanted to harness both of these powerful Variants into a superform. Using the Force to amplify the strength of her right arm's punches, Sidious soon found himself running out of strength. He was having to rely more on Force Rage and Force Valor in order to keep up the fight with Arden._ No, I will not be defeated by this primitive fossil from the past!_ he vowed to himself silently.

But as she used the superform against him more and more, in combination to her own application of Force Valor and Battlemind, it seemed as though Sidious was meeting his match. As the duel progressed in her favor, he tried to fight back with several kicks and punches related to Stava. However, Arden Lyn caught all of this and even delivered a crippling blow to his left arm which meant that it would hang limp and useless for several days. Days that he didn't have if she killed him despite her desire to capture him, one could safely add at this point in the duel.

"Even with one hand you will know my true might and you will fall today, Arden Lyn! Do not doubt this promise for a moment," he hissed. "I don't know Sidious, Palpatine, or whatever you go by. You sure look like you're approaching the end of your run to me," she retorted, smiling widely.

He tried one last desperate attempt of Force Lightning but she simply applied Tutaminis in her left hand and absorbed the Lightning before then throwing it back at him. So powerful was her application of this technique that she could absorb every last bolt of his Force Storm with one hand. With equal strength, she was also able to reflect it all right back at him with relative ease and there was little his Force barriers could do to help stem the tide much. She had been smart to cripple one of his arms with her Assassin-Variant nerve attack before he could electrocute her as it would seem.

But even when he turned to other Force Powers, she displayed prominence in abilities that he was barely a match for. He could barely deflect her application of Kinetite and Force Destruction or absorb the green beam she shot out of her mechanical arm or the green lighting from her human left one. His own application of Tutaminis fell before the might of both these powers and he knew what she was trying to do: force him to apply Tutaminis to the laser whilst she electrocuted him. He also knew, thanks to her earlier indications in her fighting, that she did this with intent to subdue and capture him alive.

The absorption of the beam itself was not without its price: the more he used it, the more it felt like he was trying to absorb the blades of lightsabers into the palm of his hand or worse. Her Force Lightning also made it difficult to hold onto the absorption as it meant he was having to shrug off a lot. During his youthful years as an apprentice of Lord Plagueis he might have been able to shrug this off with relative ease but as an old man, he found it difficult to do. Plus the woman he was dealing with, despite being older than him, was not physically more than early-thirties and much more aggressive.

"I've come for revenge against you, Sith and mark my words when I say that I intend to complete my revenge," she said. She relented in holding pressing the beam on him after that and he almost reflected its energy back at her. Instead though, he took it in and used it to revitalize his body and restore the damage her lightning and beam together had caused him. "In my prime, the duel would have long turned into my favor and you would already be dead," he told her.

"Save the youthful reminiscence for someone who's actually interested in hearing your stories and isn't trying to bring you down. I have heard enough of your talking," she ordered. Complying, Sidious made to attack her with the Variant of the Snake despite needing both hands for it. She took his remaining hand but instead of crushing it, she simply pull him close to her and tripped him off his feet.

The young woman then proceeded to grab him by a leg and lift him over her head whilst holding onto his remaining arm. "It's time this duel ended, much as I have had fun turning your own technique against you and breaking your spirit gradually. Now excuse me for breaking your body too," she said. Then she brought him over her head, raising one knee in the process and rammed his pelvis straight unto her bent kneecap.

The result was a dislocated pelvis and total paralysis from the waist down for at least two or three weeks. When Arden heard the bonecrack that confirmed his disability, she simply tossed him aside and watched to see if he had any great ideas left. But Sidious knew that he was defeated, there was no way he could keep fighting with paralyzed legs and a broken arm. "You win, Arden Lyn: take me to Demetrius Zaarin now if he is here with you," he said, accepting that he had been defeated.

Heaving the crippled Sith Lord over her shoulder like a sandbag, Arden Lyn commed in that she had succeeded and was on her way back to the ship. When the Admiral replied, Sidious knew that the traitor was excited about having the Emperor in his clutches before very much fighting was done. _There will be more before the end of this stupid insurrection against my power, be sure of that Zaarin_ Sidious thought but didn't say.

For Arden, however, he had a different vow: one that he was more than willing to voice aloud to her. "If you should somehow escape the wrath of forces sure to come rescuing me, know that I will never cease until I have found you and killed you. You will know no peace for as long as you live and when you finally die, I will make sure that it's by my hand!" he said. "Old man, you forget who I am: as it is, I don't know peace much as I would wish it thanks to what the Jedi did to me," she replied.

Sidious had not forgotten that and he vowed to amplify the power of the demons that haunted Arden Lyn by any and all means necessary. But as he walked away, he sensed that Tremayne was slowly beginning to revive and as such, sent him a telepathic order to get the_ Majestic_ away from here. He needed this ship to live to fight another day and he needed the High Inquisitor to be able to do the same as well. After all, Vader would be arriving any minute with at least one other and he sensed that Admiral Thrawn would be coming with backup.

In the meantime though, he allowed himself to be transported aboard_ Haven_ 3, the escort-class shuttle that would taking him back to Zaarin's cruiser _Glory_ and his holding cell from there. For all the surety of defeat that was to come for Demetrius, Sidious had to admit he had done incredibly well. He would need to insure that he could count on Vice Admiral Thrawn to stop him after this battle ended. Only cunning like the Chiss' could match this excellent, brilliant execution of military strategy and technological genius such as Admiral Zaarin had presented in this battle.

Perhaps, this would even function as Thrawn's opportunity for a promotion to Grand Admiral as he had wanted shortly after joining the ranks of the Imperial military. _No doubt, Thrawn had deserved the title when he passed my test but I am glad I withheld it from him until now. He will certify having earned the title of Grand Admiral when he defeats Admiral Zaari_n the Sith thought. It was an ingenious idea and Sidious hoped for a chance to exploit it for himself after this battle ended with his troops emerging victorious.

And that was certified when Maarek Stele, Vader's companion, broke through Zaarin's ranks by destroying the other shuttles surrounding Palpatine and then boarded _Haven_ 3. Arden looked all around her, unbelieving that this militaristic failure was happening when she was so close to revenge. "I'll deal with you another time, your Highness. It would seem as though the will of the Force has handed you a good lot despite your injuries in combat against me," she said.

Just like that, she was out and away from _Haven_ 3 in an escape pod which would have been shot down if anyone had been looking for it. Besides that, Sidious probably would not have ordered it shot out of space now that he insured Tremayne had steered _Majestic_ out of Imperial Center's space. After Arden's escape, the battle was over in a matter of minutes with Glory making a full retreat and Maarek rescuing Sidious before destroying the shuttle he was trapped in. "You have done well, young man, be proud of that," he said as Maarek carried him away.

"I did my job my liege and no more than that," Maarek said with a smile. "You have done your job excellently and beautifully. Lord Vader was right to choose you to be a member of his rescue party," Sidious replied. Maarek chuckled and shook his head as he carried the Emperor to the safety of his Palace on the surface of Imperial Center, his domain of ultimate power and equally great defeat now.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

For Admiral Zaarin, the operation to capture Emperor Palpatine was going almost too well and he was shocked. However, he wasn't shocked to see that Vader and another pilot had survived the encounter with Gaston as well as Agamemnon and began turning the tide against him. On their own, they would not have stemmed it greatly enough in the Empire's favor victory but then came the Chiss. _It'd seem as though I have to meet again as rivals, Vice Admiral Thrawn_ Demetrius thought to himself sneeringly.

"All crew members, pilot the Glory into position to engage Vanguard. Repeat, position the Glory to engage the Vanguard," he ordered. "Sir, with all due respect, that's suicide! Vice Admiral Thrawn commands the Vanguard and the Mescue!" one crew member exclaimed.

"In addition, he may want you to engage him so that _Mescue_ can board _Haven_ 3 and rescue the Emperor!" another crew member agreed. Demetrius hadn't thought about this but now that he did, he had to admit that they were right. If he engaged Thrawn now, the _Mescue_ could circle around and rescue the Emperor before turning their guns on the _Glory_'s engines. "Very well then, do we still have the shuttles?" Demetrius asked.

"Yeah but not for much longer: Colonel Stele has already destroyed _Hellcat_s 2 and 3 as well as _Haven_ 1. He's currently engaging _Hellcat_ 1 and if he's not stopped, we might as well give him the Emperor back," a third crew member answered. "In that case, redirect four TIE Avengers to stop Maarek and have the rest keep their current focus on enemy squadrons," Zaarin replied. "Yes sir!" the crew member said.

"Sir, _Haven_ 3 has been disabled and _Hellcat_ 1 has been destroyed!" the first crew member shouted. "How is the Z-Alpha Squadron doing out there?" Zaarin asked. "Very poorly sir, the four fighters you requested to stop Stele have already been destroyed by _Vanguard_ torpedoes. As if that isn't bad enough, Vader's brought in three more squadrons of TIE Defenders," an engineer said.

"Which squadrons are those?" Zaarin demanded. "Alpha and Gamma Squadrons from the Ottega battle, sir!" the engineer replied rapidly. _Damn, I should have known that there would be survivors of Ottega and Parmel besides Vader and Stele that were ready for this round. Looks as though I'm going to have to beat a very hasty retreat soon_ he thought to himself.

"We'll not be having the numbers to sustain an attack from those squadrons. Pull out what you can as fast as you can!" Zaarin ordered. "We can't sir: if we do that, we'll expose the Glory to attack from the TIE Defenders and possibly Lord Vader!" the first crew member replied. _So I have to sacrifice an entire squadron to save my ship? Dammit this battle's turned out worse than even my calculations indicated it could_ Zaarin growled to himself.

"Ditch all our forces and prepare the Glory for a lightspeed trip back to Research immediately. Better to live to fight another day even if it costs us good soldiers and great ships," he ordered aloud. "But sir, what about Arden Lyn!?" a captain exclaimed. In the excitement of the battle, he had nearly forgotten her until she reported success in capturing the Emperor.

Then he had forgotten her entirely once her report came in and he attempted to secure the capture of the Emperor. "Have any escape pods been launched out of _Haven_ 3 in the last standard half-hour or so?" he asked. "Yes sir and from the lifescans, there's not a trace of Arden Lyn on board, she must have taken the escape pod after the battle turned ill," the captain answered. Inwardly smiling, he was glad to hear that she had slipped away in the chaos of battle even if not back to _Research_.

She had to secure the life of herself and her unborn child, after all, and Zaarin wasn't about to force her to endanger his future grandchild any further. "Sir, if we begin the pullout process now we can still save _Haven_ 2!" the captain added again. "Alright do it, have Haven 2 fall into full retreat right behind us and someone tell me if we can save _Haven_ 3!" Zaarin demanded. "That's a big fat negative sir, we're going to have to leave it behind," the first crew member replied.

"And the crew on board?" Zaarin asked. "They've already begun launching escape pods and are headed back to _Research_. Some have stayed on board however and I don't think the Emperor's going to dilly-dally about what to do with them," the captain answered. "Order them to activate the self-destruct: better that they go down with the ship than stay around for execution," Zaarin ordered.

"Uh sir, I think they already did," the crew member replied. "Good, now file into retreat formation and prepare to jump to lightspeed: destination, _Research_ in the Parmel system. Do it quickly and do it now or we'll not live for another battle," Zaarin demanded. "The _Glory_ is ready for full retreat sir, _Haven_ 2 called in and said they won't be joining us now but they'll be back at _Research_," a second engineer answered.

"In that case, tell them to make the jump the moment they have a chance then get us to lightspeed. And someone patch communications to my son, I have to know how well we're doing at the other frontiers that we're attacking," Zaarin replied. "Yes sir, sending transmission now!" a communications officer stated. Making his march back to the communication board, Zaarin stood by and waited until his son received the transmission and in the meantime, _Glory_ made the jump.

**When Vice Admiral Thrawn** arrived to the scene of the battle, he had to admit that he was slightly unimpressed with the chaos of Zaarin's form. Had the bastard taken any time at all to plan the attack or had he launched the coup on a whim? If the latter, it explained why he ordered an attack on Lord Vader at the Ottega system and attempted his destruction again at Parmel. He wanted to buy time to capture the Emperor with Vader's vaporization being just a bonus in the scheme of things.

However, upon arrival, he was quick to ask Colonel Stele which transport Emperor Palpatine was trapped on. "That would be _Haven_ 3, Vice Admiral! I'm making my round to the other shuttles and seeing about destroying them before going back to the _Haven_ 3 for a rescue operation. Unless you got something else in mind," Stele answered.

"Yes, make your way around to the two shuttles nearest my ship and destroy them. Then make your way back around to the ships closest to _Haven_ 3, spare any that are behind it for later. After that, I want you to report to the _Mescue_ and board _Haven_ 3 from in it and do it quickly before its too late. Lastly, have a medical team on standby: if Arden Lyn subdued the Emperor, he's likely to have serious injuries," Thrawn said.

"Copy that, this is Colonel Maarek Stele signing out," Maarek replied after a short pause to relay the details in his head. After making sure that he was on his way to do it, he then turned his attention to the TIE Avengers attacking the TIE Defender squads already present. "Lord Vader, if you get this then I need you to take the squads of TIE Defenders with you and draw off the Avengers. Do you copy?" Thrawn asked on an Imperial frequency.

At first, Thrawn thought that the Dark Lord of the Sith was too drawn into battle or else too ignorant of Thrawn to answer his communication. However, he did that after the moment of silence and rogered the request whilst making his own moves to grant it. When he saw that the squadrons accompanying Lord Vader were making their way to do the same thing, he made his next move. "All crew members of the Vanguard, see what you can do about directing the ship at Glory," he ordered.

"Sir?" a crew member asked, confused. "I want to see if I can get Admiral Zaarin to engage us and stall him. We need the _Mescue_ to go around to _Haven_ 3 and board it to rescue the Emperor when Stele is through with the shuttles I asked him to destroy," Thrawn answered. To his surprise though, the worst Zaarin did was order four TIE Avengers to go and destroy Colonel Stele's fighter.

"Lieutenant, send four torpedoes to destroy those TIE Avengers headed for Colonel Stele's ship. I don't want them disrupting the plans for the rescue operation too seriously," Thrawn ordered immediately. His order was obeyed immediately and the TIE Avengers were unable to act until it was too late to stop the torpedoes from destroying them. Stele was safe and allowed to continue his operations in peace, the operations themselves soon completed as if in gratitude to Thrawn.

"Hey Vice Admiral, thanks for getting those fighters off my tail. I've finished destroying the shuttles you asked me to take out and I'm making my way around to the _Mescue_. Do you copy?" Maarek said, moments later. "I copy Colonel and when you arrive, be sure to inform the crew that they begin the rescue when ready and to please remember to have a medical team on standby.

"It is an absolute must if Arden Lyn was asked to capture the Emperor by Zaarin," Thrawn replied. "I copy that Vice Admiral, this is Colonel Maarek signing off, over and out," the Colonel stated before cutting transmission. Thrawn was pleased with the setup that was going on so far despite the fact that he still hadn't managed to goad Zaarin into engaging the _Vanguard_. "Lord Vader, see what you can do about luring the TIE Avengers away from in front of the _Glory_, I need to goad Zaarin," he said.

At first, his comlink was static but then he heard the voice of Lord Vader reply that he would obey the order despite his apparent annoyance that Thrawn was giving orders. _Get used to it Lord Vader, I command the battlefields I am on when I am on them_ Thrawn thought quietly. As if that wasn't the only thing to notice, Thrawn observed Vader's forces begin to rout the opposing starfighters. It was an impressive work of art to look at and he almost had the _Glory_'s engines exposed due to the fact that it had turned its back for a full retreat.

Then, just when it seemed that his plan to destroy Zaarin right then and there had been assured, the _Glory_ jumped right into hyperspace thus leaving only the two shuttles behind. In the meantime, _Mescue_ had gone around to _Haven_ 3 to rescue the Emperor as planned and begun the extraction. Overall, the turnout was not too disappointing although Thrawn would have liked to eliminate Zaarin before he could escape, thus ending his insurrection before it could really begin. But he had to admit, it might yet make for an interesting conflict to add to the Empire's history and to his own resume.

If anyone came anywhere near rivaling Thrawn in strategic and military cunning besides the Emperor and Lord Vader, it would have to be Admiral Zaarin after all. For all his personality problems that Thrawn experienced firsthand, he knew he was no small threat to be dealt with. True that all he would be able to do to the Empire was harass it militarily but he would choose massive targets for that. He would choose targets that were essential to the continuation of the Empire's technological weaponry as well as places that contained the developments of future advances.

As if that wasn't problematic enough, he was once the chief engineer of most Imperial starfighter and cruiser designs thus giving him knowledge of the weaknesses of many of them. Combined with his current strategic capabilities, he would pack a massive punch to the Imperial economy by himself. If combined with the Rebel Alliance, however, it would be the end of the Empire as it was for certain. Nonetheless, Thrawn had the feeling that Zaarin was too proud to join the Alliance and would rely on his own knowledge of Imperial technology plus his own advances more than uniting with the Rebels.

_Cunning as he is, he has already doomed himself to fail unless he isn't as prideful of his abilities as I suspect him to be_ Thrawn observed. Watching as _Glory_ retreated with _Haven_ 2 following suit and _Haven_ 3 self-destructing, an interesting turn of events, he planned his next move. Having received reports of forces at Omar, ZA-13, and RS-32, the Chiss officer knew that Zaarin would be making his next move on any one of those facilities again if he failed to catch them now. At the same time though, Thrawn suspected that he wouldn't make too many moves against those facilities.

Enough failures would compel him to give up on those areas and seek out other frontiers to make a place for himself in the galaxy. Submerging himself in the great ocean of thought, Thrawn concocted a plan oriented on defeating Zaarin and began mentally outlining key systems to push him to. Systems where Thrawn's forces in the Unknown Regions could reach him with relative ease and aid him in the battles. "Sir, do you have any further orders?" a lieutenant asked him suddenly.

Thrawn was slightly surprised by this intrusion into his thinking but he was quick to respond to the subordinate's question. "Await further orders from Lord Vader or the Emperor and in the meantime, prepare to go back to the Imperial Palace should they ask of it. And be sure that no one bothers me at least until we head back to there, I wish to be alone for a little while," he said. "Yes sir, I shall see to it immediately," the lieutenant replied.

That was when it hit Thrawn: before the _Haven_ 3 self-destructed, he had seen an escape pod launch followed by a couple more several minutes later. "Lieutenant, the boarding party that went to _Haven_ 3. Did they see anyone unusual, a woman with a mechanical arm and shoulder-length straight black hair?" Thrawn asked. "No sir, they didn't report seeing such a person though they did mention an escape pod launching shortly before their arrival," the lieutenant answered.

Thrawn thought about this carefully as it confirmed his suspicion that she was still alive but it was an unfortunate development in his plans for her. "Is that all, sir?" the lieutenant inquired, curiously. Thrawn shook his head and dismissed the trooper as he retreated back to his headquarters, disappointment at having not captured Arden Lyn mounting. _Where will you go now Arden, back to Zaarin or elsewhere in the universe?_ he asked himself grimly.

**Lord Vader grimaced at** the sight of his Master upon rendezvousing with him and Thrawn on the Vanguard. Colonel Stele arrived shortly thereafter from the _Mescue_ and bowed in respect to the Sith Lords. "You have done a great service for the Empire, Colonel Stele. Lord Vader was right to choose you to join the taskforce he brought to my rescue," Palpatine stated proudly.

Beneath his mask, Vader allowed himself a smirk and Maarek looked like he could barely contain a smile himself. As the Emperor was taken into a shuttle that would carry him to a hospital near the Palace, Lord Vader strode up next to the smaller man and patted his shoulder. "You have indeed done a great service to the Empire with your actions in this battle. There is potential for you to become an elite member of the military yet," Vader stated in agreement.

Maarek looked down, as if in submission but Vader knew it was more likely absorbance of what he said. "You are very brave even if a little rash when you don't have to worry about others shooting you down. Was there ever a moment where you were afraid for your life or of the enemy?" Vader inquired. Maarek looked like he thought about that before and was thinking over it again very carefully, knowing that there was only one true answer to the question.

"I had no idea how they had overpowered the Emperor, but I didn't stop to think about it, either… I didn't care. It was my job to save him," Maarek answered at last. "Wise answer Maarek Stele, there is indeed potential for you but not as an ordinary pilot of the Empire," Vader stated. "Sir?" Maarek asked.

"Wait until after the award ceremony for your service is over and you'll see. The Emperor has a profound interest in you now that you have displayed such excellent skill in battle," Vader answered. Then he left to see to it that Palpatine's injuries were attended to enough that he would be able to witness the ceremony. Antinnis Tremayne also had injuries to attend to but his were not serious and he was soon sent back on the trail of Arden Lyn as had been his mission before joining the Emperor.

Then there was the matter of Vice Admiral Thrawn and his service to the Empire during the course of this battle. A promotion for him was in order as well as Colonel Stele's awarding of the Emperor's Will medal in a ceremony fit for the cream of Coruscant society. _The cream of Coruscant are seldom ever part of a bigger audiences in these ceremonies anyway_ Vader reminded himself. But somehow, Vader had the feeling that Thrawn would not obtain his promotion or would not want it yet, at least.

One victorious battle was hardly the stuff of promotions, even if it was a battle to save the Emperor. However, he had no doubt that Thrawn would be given full power to command any and all forces used solely for the destruction of Admiral Zaarin. The Emperor would give him that much in consideration of his intelligence and his efficiency combined with his conservation of soldiers. Whether Zaarin knew it already or not, he was doomed to fail in the insurrection he had started on the Empire.

**Admiral Zaarin was somewhat** disappointed that the forces he had sent to Omar, ZA-13, RS-32 had not even arrived to begin their battles but he decided it was for the better. Meeting the Omar forces in Parmel, he decided to accompany them after inquiring to the well-being of his son. "I'm perfectly fine dad and more than capable of holding down _Research_ while you wage war," Paris said. "Just remember that the Empire will come for the facility at some point and be on according guard," Demetrius told him.

"Yeah sure dad and one last thing before you go skittering off to have fun, where's Arden?" Paris asked. Demetrius paused, not sure as to how to voice what had happened to her before concluding he could only do it in the honest way. "She hitched a ride on one of the escape pods on _Haven_ 3 before the Imperials forced me to retreat. I couldn't extract her so as far as I know, she could be anywhere but have faith: she is not as easy to kill as even the Emperor would like to think," he stated.

Paris looked like he wanted to leave _Research_ and go search for her but who could blame him? She did carry his (as yet) unborn child and the future of the Zaarin's family name in her womb, after all. "Send Hoar after her if you like but I'm not having you leave to go find her though I understand your desire," Demetrius said. "Arden ordered Hoar to stay beside me, there's no way I'm persuading him considering his loyalty to her," Paris replied.

"Then I suggest you pray that she find her way back to you before the Empire gets us all," Demetrius stated. After that, he cut transmission with his son and ordered the lightspeed trip to Omar to continue. Operation Strategic Warfare had begun with this battle and would continue with three battles at ZA-13, one at RS-32, the Destruction of the _Grappler_, and would end with another battle at Omar. What he didn't realize however, was that in spite of his occasional victories during Operation Strategic Warfare, the Emperor did not intend to live them down nor would Zaarin's nemesis Thrawn.

During the time of Strategic Warfare, despite that, Paris rose to a status nearly equal to his father thanks to his involvement in the ZA-13 battles and RS-32. In fact, it wasn't long before Paris was declared Demetrius' joint commander in the Zaarin Splinter Government and made heir to his father. Nonetheless, even as he obtained popularity amongst officers that were as old or older than his father, he still yearned to have Arden Lyn back with him. He desperately wished that he could send Hoar after her but the Tusken refused to go, saying that Arden demanded that the two men stick together always.

He longed to feel her warm, beautiful skin against his own again, the feeling being the one thing he would allow to cure him of the coldness of his bed. For the first time in his life, he had found he couldn't just move on to several more one-night stands, not anymore. She carried his future, his seed, and he wasn't about to abandon her just yet. But somehow, he got the feeling they'd never meet again.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

Escaping Imperial Center and landing on nearby Bandomeer, Arden was quick to make her way to the nearest spaceport after securing that her crash wouldn't be discovered. Despite her love for Paris and her appreciation of his father, there was only one thing that was on her mind now. That one thing was protecting the unborn child she bore in her womb from Paris' seed and nothing else. Luckily for her, she knew just the place to go for her protection and the protection of her child: Dromund Kaas.

After all, Kadann had foreseen them meeting again for one time in the near future though he didn't say this would last a long time or if it would be brief. She had to see if she could obtain sanctuary with the Prophets of the Dark Side even if they still served the Empire. Or at least, she had to try and see if their loyalty was loose enough to allow her entrance as a person in need of sanctuary. However, she suspected that she would need to go elsewhere before going to them just in case.

She knew a good place to go, one where she could then conceal her presence in the Force and literally disappear for quite some time: Tython, original homeworld of the Jedi. Because the Jedi Temple there had likely been attacked during the Emperor's purge of the Jedi Order, it was ideal for hiding. Her plan was to come out during the wee hours of the night and watch the News to keep updated. But during the day, she would retreat in the Temple and camouflage her presence from the Sith Lords.

While night-hunting, she would make sure to get food for herself at Kalikori Village as well as other resources that she would need for her daytime concealment in the Temple ruins. All the while, she would let her baby grow and grow big until she was certain that the Prophets would welcome her. She didn't want to walk blindly into a trap with an unborn baby five or six months into development, after all. _We'll meet again Kadann, as your vision foretold us doing in the future_ she vowed to herself silently.

Finding the Temple, she immediately made her way into it and into its lower levels in the knowledge that the darkness would protect her. Xendor had taught her as much when the Schism began all those years ago and she had remained in darkness for twenty-five thousand years after that. Rubbing her belly to assure her unborn child that everything was alright, she made sleeping quarters out of stone. Then she slept a genuine sleep for the first time since she had awoken from her first great hibernation twenty-three years before.

**After returning a repaired** _Majestic_ to the Emperor, Inquisitor Tremayne was asked to resume his hunt of Arden Lyn. Not only was he pleased with this but he was excited to a bloodthirsty extent especially now that she had treasonously rebelled against the Emperor with Zaarin's help. "Tell me Admiral Thrawn," Tremayne said when he bumped into the Chiss officer who had aided in the battle. "Would you say that the fuel trails of any escape pods would still be fresh right about now?" he asked.

"I would say they would be but I don't see how you're going to be able to use them," the Chiss answered. Tremayne pointed to his mechanical eye and told him that it could see in the spectrum needed to follow a trail of burned fuel. Upon being taken up to the space above Imperial Center in a shuttle, Tremayne immediately pinpointed the oldest fuel trail of the escape pods and followed its path. From the look of it, it appeared as though whoever had been occupying the pod was headed not back to _Research_ but to Tython or some other nearby planet.

_Now only one person would desire to go to Tython or even know about it amongst the insurrections, that person being Arden. But why in the universe would she want to go there? There's barely anything there that can help her sustain herself for any longer than a couple months_ he asked himself silently. Only reason he could think of was because she was hiding something, something that needed protecting if Zaarin was to survive.

He would have to find out what it was when he arrived to Tython and found her but in the meantime, he would just have to speculate and debate what it could be. But perhaps, in the massive scheme of things, it was for the better that Arden Lyn had left to Tython. Soon after the coup at Imperial Center and the commencement of Operation Strategic Warfare began, Research became a target. However, he doubted that she had left solely because of this for one reason: the insurrection would be desperate to inhabit worlds at which they could make a stand against the Empire.

They would try their best to colonize worlds closest to Imperial Center in case they could make another attempt on the Emperor's life. Perhaps Arden was the start of that inward expansion and more insurrectionists would follow soon after her arrival there. If that was the case, then he needed to reach her before insurrectionist forces arrived and took over Tython beneath the Emperor's nose. He had to settle his score with Arden Lyn and effectively save the Empire from her future vengeance yet to be had.

Operation Strategic Warfare had not gone exactly to plan: ZA-13 was destroyed but it had taken two battles to conquer Omar and RS-32 was still safe. Paris Zaarin knew it would only be a matter of time before the Empire made their next move and he doubted it'd be against his father. "Hoar, order our shuttle ready in case of emergency," he said as he deliberated this. "What emergency, might I ask?" Hoar replied.

"We attacked the Empire at its capital, we tried to assassinate the Emperor and take out Lord Vader as well. It's only a matter of time before they decide to attack our insurrection's equivalent of a capital world a.k.a. _Research_," Paris explained. "I see, you want to be prepared to go into full retreat upon their attack," Hoar said. "Yeah, for all the skill of our facility's forces, they don't have what it takes to do anymore than prolong the inevitable in a retaliatory attack from the Empire," Paris admitted.

"What about that fleet that's on standby to defend the _Research_ if it is attacked?" Hoar suggested. "Due to poor communication equipment in their area, I'd have to go to them in person. By the time I get back with them, _Research_ would surely have fallen to the Empire," Paris explained. "Could your father send another fleet to help you if that's the scenario?" Hoar asked.

"Probably but they also wouldn't arrive until Research had already been taken. In fact, they're farther off from the Parmel System than the other fleet I mentioned," Paris answered. "Okay, I put in the order to have your shuttle ready: it should be fueled up for travel within the hour," Hoar stated. Suddenly, Imperial ships jumped out of lightspeed just as the Tusken Raider and Paris had to admit that he wished he hadn't spoken about them.

"All forces in Research, engage the Imperial fleet not even one parsec away from the facility. Repeat, engage the Imperial fleet, this is Vice Admiral Paris Zaarin commanding you to!" Paris exclaimed into a comm. The forces on standby were quick to obey Zaarin's orders and Paris immediately asked Hoar to come with him to the shuttle. "I live to serve the son of Demetrius Zaarin," Hoar replied.

The two of them ran down to the shuttle and requested that only the very best two pilots in the facility take them to the fleet on the other side of the Parmel system. Luckily for them, the forces defending _Research_ kept the Imperials too busy to notice Paris' retreat. It was good thing for him too for had Colonel Stele, the commander of the Imperials, noticed him then it would have been over. The lightspeed trip to the extra fleet was very short but it was even shorter battle for the forces at _Research_.

By the time Paris brought up those reinforcements and requested another fleet to be on standby, the First Battle of _Research_ was an Imperial victory. Paris tried to take it back with the fleet he provided on the other side of the Parmel system but they were soon wiped out. Doing what he could to stall the Imperials with his remnants, Paris waited until the last fleet arrived with his father as their leader. Victory was the Zaarin's after the third battle but the Research had taken too much damage in the meantime to be used anymore. Demetrius ordered it destroyed at that time and refused to be swayed away from that path, deciding that there were other frontiers that were more vital than _Research_ was.

In all that time though, Paris would see more defeats than victories and his faith in his father slowly began to drain out of his being. He had gone into the insurrection in the hopes of a quick victory against the Emperor and an equally swift initiation into a new era of the galaxy. But now, he was slowly beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake by joining his father and meeting Arden. He was beginning to wonder if he had put himself in danger needlessly for his father's own vision.

True that he wanted to get to know his father better since he was the only family he had left with the death of his mother but he started to wonder if it was worth that. Would he have been better off searching for Arden with which Hoar was sure to help him? Could it be possible that he should have chosen to stay with her and their unborn child? He didn't know and for some strange reason, he didn't want to know either.

**Inquisitor Tremayne arrived to** Tython and immediately began pinning a trail for Arden Lyn's footprints. He knew the type of boots she wore thanks to Palpatine having made mention of such things to help him track her with his infrared sensors in his mechanical eye. Finding the tracks, he immediately began to assert that she was heading for the ruins of the ancient Temple though he didn't know why. Approaching the Temple, he had to admit that he was impressed that she would choose this, of all places, to hide from the wrath of the Empire.

Nonetheless, he was pleased that she had also made it a challenge for him to find her in the ruins though this was more likely her attempt at learning where all the corridors were than anything else. It was when he found her via the scan of his infrared sighting that he smiled and even laughed. "Arden Lyn, we meet again at last. I must admit that I am impressed with your choice of places to hide but now that I have found you, I will have my revenge for your injuries against me at Irkalla," Tremayne vowed.

"Antinnis Tremayne, it figures that the Emperor would send someone with a personal grudge against me. How long have you been hunting me?" she demanded. "Since you made your statement of defection at Bunduki, six months ago," he answered maliciously. "Your vengeance has carried you very far indeed but it ends now," she warned as she ignited her remaining orange lightsaber.

"I couldn't agree more," Tremayne replied as he ignited his own light-purple lightsaber. The duel began with Tremayne using Makashi and later Shien. However, Arden began battering him down with an unexpected mastery of Ataru and Shii-Cho as well as Soresu when necessary to defend herself. Tremayne then turned to his abilities in Niman and initially had her a little off guard though this was not for very long when she began using Vaapad, Jedi Master Mace Windu's form.

Such was her proficiency in the use of it that Tremayne had to turn to his knowledge of all seven of the classic lightsaber styles in order to even hold his ground. But she managed to push through with her use of Vaapad, which indicated much practice in the style as well as mastery of its basic principle. He could tell that Arden had an uncanny ability to skirt between in the line between Light and Dark as per the principle of Vaapad which demanded withdrawing Dark Side power to serve the Light. "How in the universe did you learn to use Vaapad so proficiently, who trained you?" Tremayne demanded.

"If I told you, you would probably not believe me. However, I can tell you that she was once a Padawan of Master Windu the inventor of the style," she replied calmly. Tremayne figured it out for himself soon enough the moment she called the trainer a "she". Only one woman was ever trained in Vaapad as far as he knew and that woman was none other than Depa Billaba herself.

As he tried his best to defend against the ferocity of her usage of Vaapad, his skill in the seven lightsaber forms slowly began to not only fall before her but to exhaust him as well. His cybernetics, light as they were, also would get exhausting after a while and he understood what it was like for Vader. "Give in Tremayne, there is no way you can beat me. I already defeated the Emperor and I will defeat you if I have to," Arden warned.

"Silence, you didn't kill the Emperor and I know that you will not kill me!" Tremayne shouted. Then he used a combination of Juyo, Shii-Cho, and Ataru in his vain attempt to defeat his enemy. However, her skill in Vaapad eventually forced him into an area where he knew that she would have the advantage. _How is this possible, how can she be so skilled as to fight me even after a fight with the Emperor not too long ago?_ he demanded to himself quietly.

But then she stopped using Vaapad and turned to Ataru as well as Shii-Cho and Soresu. Even with these styles that he knew and could counter, she was too skilled for him to defeat. "Stop this and surrender, Arden Lyn! You know that the Emperor will have his vengeance against you, one day even if you defeat me today!" Tremayne shouted.

"Inquisitor Tremayne, you don't understand. I can't stop what I do now for any reason, I have to go on and do what I can to defeat the Emperor in the future," Arden replied. Tremayne took a moment to breathe since she had relented to make her speech but when he heard that, he grew angry. "No!" he said before launching himself into the air and swinging his saber overhead to fight once more.

However, she intercepted this blow and arched herself so far back that she was literally able to kick him over her and send him sliding down towards a massive, pitch-black tunnel. The last Arden Lyn would see of Inquisitor Tremayne, was to see him try to grasp the slippery stone and fail. She also heard as he screamed in rage just before falling over the diagonal edge and down into the abyss below. The screams echoed across the room that they fought in and faded just as quickly as Tremayne had done.

What Tremayne and Arden would never know was that the shaft was so large and had so many turns that he would end up in Tython's one remaining river which would send him back to Kalikori. Of course, he had to deal with bumping into the walls of tunnel first as well as sharp rocks at their bottoms. But not for a single moment did the thought of revenge against Arden Lyn fail to be in the presence of his mind, it was all he desired now. Unfortunately though, when he returned to for healing, the Emperor deemed him a failure and decided that he would pursue Arden himself when he could.

**Five months later...**

Kadann received the summons to meet the Emperor at Imperial Center in time to see him off to Endor, he knew immediately what the Emperor wanted. He wanted a vision confirming that the Empire would emerge victorious at Endor, the last frontier that the Rebel Alliance could hope to beat him on. The saddest part, however, was that in the last five months since Admiral Zaarin's coup against the Emperor he had been receiving a vision of the Emperor perishing at Endor. This was where relying on the most likely course for the future could be a handicap: Palpatine only wanted the best news.

He would do anything to ensure his own vanity and pride could survive the will of the Force and with good reason. Arden Lyn had defeated him in single combat during the battle of Imperial Center that Admiral Zaarin had started. So denting was the blow to his pride with that act that he would have to make sure that defeat was no eminent for him again. The people of the Empire, of course, became less content after seeing what had happened five months before.

In Kadann's mind, rightly so too for Admiral Zaarin and his son Paris still lived and were still causing trouble though the future foretold them not doing it for much longer. However, there was the additional problem of Arden Lyn still on the loose despite his vision that they would meet again. To solve this problem, the easiest of all as it would turn out, he reached out to her telepathically. He told her of his intention to move from Dromund Kaas to Bosthirda should she decide to meet with him again.

She immediately responded, after he confirmed who he was, that she might just do that in the not too distant future. _Perfect, everything is proceeding as I have foreseen rather than as Sidious has foreseen_ Kadann thought with a smile. "Old friend, it is so good to see you again and in better condition than I had been in before," Palpatine stated, reminiscing on his injuries. For four months after the encounter with Arden Lyn, he had to rely on a hoverchair to get around due to pelvic paralysis.

In addition, he had to wear a cast for his broken left arm for three weeks in simultaneity to using the hoverchair when he needed to get around. "Indeed my friend, how goes the construction of the new Death Star?" Kadann asked. "It goes as I have foreseen though with some delay, Vader will be remedying that however as will my personal arrival there," Palpatine answered. That was when Kadann sensed that the Emperor would ask him about his visions and he did though not before sharing his.

"Soon, the station will be armed and fully operational which would ensure the death of the Alliance and the end of this insignificant rebellion as I have foreseen! Tell me Prophet, do you concur with me on what I have seen?" Palpatine asked at last. Kadann knew he was going to have to reveal what he had seen but he knew better than to wait longer than a few seconds to answer. Before doing so, he determined that the best way to answer him was honestly and directly, wasting no more time.

"While you have seen victory, the future is always in motion. There are many outcomes, and I have been shown the one most likely to occur. I have seen the end of the Empire, and the death of the Emperor," he answered. This surprised Palpatine and at first, Kadann thought that he would be incinerated for certain though Palpatine knew this would provoke Jedgar into full-fledged assault on him. However, his answer confirmed that he wanted to but he was not about to risk life and limb to ensure the fulfillment of his visions anymore than he would need to.

"Do you not think I have seen such an event? Of course I have seen that vision, but I refuse to allow it to happen," Palpatine replied. "One meets his destiny most frequently on the path he takes to avoid it. The more you fight what I have foreseen the more likely it is to occur: you will fail," Kadann warned.

Palpatine had no immediate reply to this except to order troops to escort the tiny human prophet back to his ship. Kadann did not begrudge the request although he did deny it, confident that he could walk himself back to his own shuttle. _You have taught me very well Arden Lyn, indeed it is essential to keep some focus on the present even if one's skill lies in seeing the future. I look forward to meeting you again when you finally arrive to our home once more_ Kadann thought.

Jedgar, who had been left to guard the shuttle, looked surprised that Kadann would be back so soon from his talk with the Sith Lord. But he told him of the conversation and Jedgar immediately accepted the reality of what had to be done without any begrudging toward his master. "Do you really think it will be wise to leave the current champion of the Dark Side even if he is wrong?" he asked.

"Better to serve the Dark Side from a distance than be close to the explosion to come. Besides, we have better things to do with our time than continue satisfying the ego of the Emperor," Kadann said. Jedgar nodded his agreement and asked Kadann where he would like to go next, now that his self-imposed exile was all but assured. "Take me to Bosthirda and order all the prophets to join us there, it will no longer be safe at Dromund Kaas even after the Empire falls," Kadann answered rapidly.

"And what do you propose to do once we're there?" Jedgar inquired. "For the moment, we will let events transpire and act as no more than witnesses from a safe distance. Then, when the time is right to reappear, we will strike again," Kadann explained. That was a good enough answer for Jedgar.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

Arden Lyn was almost six months into her pregnancy and she had to admit that she had done well for herself despite the difficulties of finding enough supplement on Tython. But Kadann's telepathic message to her had confirmed one thing: where he was, there was both food and security at small cost. She knew the time had come to go there and live out the last three months of her pregnancy, she would need to in order to guarantee safe passage into the galaxy for her unborn child. True that Kadann wasn't entirely trustworthy but he was a better choice than risking a stillbirth alone in the ancient Tython temple.

Besides, she longed for at least some sympathetic company and while the people of Tython were not bad, Kadann had presented himself as a very friendly individual when last they met. Jedgar and Merili tended to be violently impulsive and reckless but Kadann controlled them effectively enough. In addition, the strength of the Prophets meant that any hapless Force user who wanted trouble with her after she claimed sanctuary would immediately be vaporized before the power of the Dark Side. At this critical stage in the development of her child, protecting its future was more essential than ever before.

And so far, her heart and her mind agreed that the best security (risky as it was) lied with Kadann and his Prophets. "Don't worry sweetie, we'll be going to a new home before too much more time passes," she said to her unborn infant. She had gotten used to talking to the child whenever it told her it was afraid or to hum a lullaby when she needed it to go to sleep. Sometimes, she even went head-on and started singing Bunduki poems she had learned during her days training in Terras Kasi.

The baby would be so calm whenever she began singing that she almost thought she killed it by singing to it. However, it would wake up soon after realizing that it was hungry and Arden would begin her night hunting. She would do what she could to find nutrient sticks since they contained all the vitamins and calcium her baby would need to grow healthily. To supply the two of them with protein, she would bait lizards, edible insects, and small rodents into traps she would set up with rotten meat.

Despite the diet, she was very sociable and kept in contact with some locals of the Kalikori Village who shared food with her in exchange for small manual labor inside their house. Sometimes, she would cook vegetables from the garden and would be allowed to have a portion of the product. Other times, she would be asked to watch after other people's kids whilst the parents worked on their farm. And yet other times, she would work as a hostess at the town tavern in which she would seat people and see to cleaning the glasses and tables after it closed for the night.

The bartender frequently offered her a free room in exchange for shelter from the night but Arden would pass it off in exchange for a ride back to the Temple. She explained it was not only for her safety but for the safety of the people of Kalikori Village. Now however, she headed back to the Tavern to inform the bartender that she wouldn't be coming back. "It's time for me to head out and carve a new existence, it's not safe for me to remain here on Tython anymore," Arden added.

"Just keep out of trouble with whatever you do. I've seen quite a few people leave Tython before a year's even out but I do wish you would stay, if I had to pick someone from the crowd. Good luck Arden, you're going to need as much of it as you can get," he replied. Hugging him, she thanked him for everything and asked him if he could get her on the next transport to Dromund Kaas.

"Now why would you want to go there?" he asked. "I have friends there, friends that can help me get a good start and maybe even a job even if not on the planet itself," she answered. "Okay, don't know anyone who would willingly go all the way out there except that dwarf named Kadann. He's had personal estate there since he became a Prophet of the Dark Side, taking mastery of the others.

"Wait... you're headed to see him, aren't you?" he inquired. "I met him when I was a servant to the Empire, he's got no affiliation with the Empire now and will protect me if I can persuade him. He may even see about getting me a job at some nearby system or something like that," she explained. "Friend or not, be careful: I've heard some pretty spooky things about Kadann and his Prophets of the Dark Side," he warned.

"No worries, just get me on the next transport to Korriban and I'll make my way to Dromund Kaas. If he's not there, I'll explore the outlying systems to see if I can find him," she replied. She already knew that he was on Bosthirda and knew that there were people that could get her there. It was just a matter of being versatile and finding certain agencies on Korriban that visited the planet often.

"Goodbye Arden and good luck," he said just in time to catch her a carriage to the transport that she wanted. During the whole time that she journeyed to the transport, making sure that the credits that she had saved up were ready, she only looked back once. That was to see Kalikori Village and the people she had grown surprisingly attached to, one last time. Then she kept her eyes forward on the arduous journey that lied ahead: the journey to Kadann's homeworld of Bosthirda and his sanctuary.

**Despite his status as** second-in-command to his father Demetrius, Paris Zaarin was becoming not only demoralized but also impatient. The Battle at Kiilimaar had ended in a draw, all three Semag Battles had been lost, Gwar was lost, and the Serenity was also a defeat. As if that wasn't bad enough, Demetrius had foolishly tried to obtain control of the Vorknkx Project Base ended in failure. His father's lust for advanced technology was costing the Zaarin Splinter Government dear.

Now that the project was completed, he intended to try and capture the corvette called _Vorknkx_ at To-phalian Base. "This technological desire for advanced weapons is absolutely ridiculous, father! Half our original force has willingly withdrawn aid and even requested clemency from the Emperor in exchange for information on our bases!" Paris shouted at his father. "A trivial sacrifice when the most advanced technologies of the Empire are ours to use," Demetrius replied calmly.

"God damn it, dad! Thrawn's got you by the balls in every department,_ including_ advanced technologies! Had you actually used some of that brain of yours toward strategy and critical planning, you might have held us up a little better in the battles against him! Shit, we'd have shot Colonel Stele out of fucking space by now if you had been a little smarter about training pilots!" Paris snapped.

"Watch your tone around me, boy. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had funding for the Imperial Academy and if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be wielding military power of any kind. By my grace, your career has been nothing except the product of my successes in technology," Demetrius said. "Bullshit dad, what about Mom; what about the credits she raked up by working as a waitress and as a common whore when your paychecks too damn long to come through!?" Paris demanded.

Demetrius paled, unbelieving that his son would call his mother a whore but the way he said it indicated that she did it because she had to. "Damn right Dad, the waitress money was almost never enough and wouldn't have kept the roof over our heads or food on the table without your checks! She became a prostitute between checks while you played with your worthless toys!" Pais added. Demetrius snapped and backhanded his son across the face though he soon came to regret it afterwards.

"I love your mother, Paris! She would never have gotten herself into that because I made sure to punish her severely if she did," he added soon after. "Oh no? I remember nights where I went to bed hungry because my mom couldn't get clients.

"On those nights, she barely had enough to feed me, let alone the both of us. She fucking starved on those sorts of nights so that I could live to see you again! Through her sacrifice, I was able to finish school and then attend the Imperial Academy when you could actually be around!" Paris replied. Demetrius said nothing, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes to prevent tears from coming out as he absorbed what Paris had said about his own mother.

"That's right Dad, Mom made so many damn sacrifices while you answered orders from Lord Vader and the Emperor like the cowardly little bitch you were before you defected! Now, you've proven so arrogant and so careless in your quest for greater technology, you would sacrifice everything! You never were a good strategist without your toys but dammit, I thought you were better than this," Paris added.

"Paris, we're doing better than you think. When the _Vorknkx_ is in our possession, we'll be the ones who will have Thrawn by the balls (to quote you) and not the other way around," Demetrius said. "Bullshit Dad, even with _Vorknkx_ in possession we couldn't compare to the Death Star plus Thrawn is brilliant in that he is not only willing to more carefully calculate his next move but guess what? He's also not afraid to create new military designs that are specifically meant to counter what we got!

"We might as well lift the surrender flag now and hope we can still arrange a truce with him! Unless we move against the Emperor once more which is better than dying here with our asses being handed to us daily by Admiral Thrawn!" Paris countered. Demetrius turned to his only remaining friend Thaddeus in the hope that he could persuade Paris to stop this rant. However, the old Admiral's reaction to all of this amazed Demetrius beyond what he had known his friend to be.

"Passionate and somewhat choppy as this speech of your son's maybe, he's right in this matter. If ever there was a mind brilliant enough to give the Emperor a run for his money, it would have to be Thrawn's. Untried courage and arrogant delusion are no match for the kind of intelligence that Thrawn wields against us. I'd dare say that he's more intimidating than the Emperor in many ways for this intelligence does more than compensate for no Force attunement and that's for starters," Thaddeus said.

"You can't be serious!" Demetrius exclaimed. "Better to die fighting the real enemy than letting an intelligent, power-hungry subordinate destroy us for him. If Paris were at the helm of a second battle at Imperial Center, I would be more than honored to die beside him," Thaddeus replied. Demetrius was stunned beyond words, feeling betrayed by both his best friend and his own flesh-and-blood son.

"I will prove you both wrong when I obtain the corvette, I will destroy Thrawn and I will bring the government we have formed to a stronger point than ever before!" Demetrius vowed finally. Paris and Thaddeus both looked at each other with eyes that spoke only of pity for their mutual benefactor. Thaddeus gave the look that told Paris that Demetrius had become a maddened, broken shadow of what he had been before to which Paris nodded in agreement. Then they both turned to look at Demetrius and thoroughly examine him and the sort of man he had become.

When they spoke, Demetrius was infuriated and almost lost his control over his temper which had not happened in years. "Demetrius, Paris and I are going to make one last stand against the Emperor right at his doorstep. We'll leave enough for you to continue your selfish pursuits if you wish but for all our sakes, I hope we're both wrong," Thaddeus said. "Fine then, leave, get yourselves killed; what a fine, poetic tale that will be!" Demetrius exclaimed.

"Hoar, pack your things. We're leaving for a last stand from whence we may never come back," Paris said. "You've said that about quite a few of our last adventures," the Tusken Raider replied. "This time it's for real though: we're headed to attack the Emperor again at Imperial Center," Paris told him.

"You still haven't given up on Arden Lyn, have you?" Hoar asked, seeing the look of pain in his eyes. Paris looked up at the elder warrior and nearly teared up right there but held it in with the stubbornness his father had indirectly forced him to obtain. "If I can't be with her again, Hoar, there is no point in living anymore. Let the galaxy be done with me if I can't love her or see her give birth to my child," he replied at last.

"Amongst my people, whenever someone was so certain of that it was either because they had gone raving mad for that person or they had fallen in love with them rather genuinely. I see a little bit of both in you and I'll honestly say I can't blame you: because of your father, you lived a very loveless life. So lonely were you even when you had your booze and women that when Arden came to you, she melted the cold exterior surrounding your heart and reached the warm, gentle man within," Hoar stated. "You always knew how to read my mind and how to be a great friend Hoar, I hope that we go out fighting," Paris said, embracing the Tusken Raider like he would a brother for the very first and last time.

"When do we leave?" Hoar asked. "As soon as the Fleet is assembled, Captain Thaddeus is making the rounds right now," Paris answered. "Then it would seem as though we'll be ready by early tomorrow if we keep up a fast pace, correct?" Hoar continued. "Actually, more than half of the force we'd be taking is already assembled; it'll be a matter of hours," Paris replied.

"Even better for us all, I think. Better to catch the Emperor by some surprise and have a good fight than to have no surprise and enter a slaughterhouse," Hoar stated. "You always had a knack for words that I think I'll miss," Paris agreed. Hoar shrugged and proceeded to prepare his few belongings for his final journey with the Zaarin insurrection and with his life.

_Arden, my time is almost ended. My debt is almost paid to you for saving my life all those years ago_ Hoar told himself quietly. As he packed his rifle and his gaffi stick, he noticed another weapon he had almost completely forgotten about and it was one that had been a gift for him. This weapon was a darksaber that had once belonged to Mandalorian Pre Vizsla and even Darth Maul.

Shortly after the Emperor had explained where it had come from and bestowed it upon him, Arden began training him in Shii-Cho lightsaber fencing. The reason for this was that she wanted Hoar to be able to defend himself at least reasonably against someone armed with a lightsaber. Smiling beneath his mask, he packed this weapon in a compartment of his cloak where it would be well-hidden. However, this compartment had an additional benefit in that he could reach for it immediately if he had to use it against another lightsaber-wielding warrior.

With the decision in handy settled, he simply waited until he was informed by Paris that the fleet was ready. Was Hoar afraid to die? Sure, everyone who ever lived had been afraid to die when it came time to do so. But Hoar marched onto join Paris knowing that his fear of death would not consume him... rather, it would drive him to perform well in his last hours of life and die valiantly against anyone.

**Kadann knew it was** only a matter of time before Arden Lyn arrived on his doorstep in Bosthirda. She had telepathically informed him that she had arrived at Korriban and would be finding a transport to Kadann's new homeworld from there. It would only be a couple hours, at most, before she arrived and another hour or so before the cab brought her to the Temple. So when he calculated that she was only half an hour away, he made his way to the base of the temple stairs.

He even made arrangements for a stretcher to accommodate Arden's heavy pregnancy, knowing she would never be able to climb up the stairs without hurting her unborn child and herself. When she arrived twenty-four minutes later, Kadann greeted with a smile and a bow. "It's great to see you again Kadann though I wish it was under less desperate circumstances," she stated. "I'm already prepared to provide you sanctuary for the final months of your pregnancy if you need it," he replied.

"And I'm guessing that you'll be demanding a price for sanctuary during those months, am I correct?" she asked. "Only for any months you wish to stay beyond giving birth, such as the months needed to wean your child off breastfed milk," he answered. "Perhaps I can offer payment of a sort: the sources of recording I've read on the First Great Schism are either incomplete or inaccurate. I'm the only eyewitness to the events of the Schism and know the events before very well," she suggested.

Kadann thought about that carefully, mentally admitting that what she said was right about the incompleteness and inaccuracy of the sources surrounding the era of her early days. _I could use a more detailed and accurate picture of what those days were like_ he thought quietly. "Very well, I could allow you to have sanctuary for that price. Is there anything else besides that, you can offer?" he asked.

"I can teach your pupils how to garden whilst carrying my child through the last three months. There were times in Tython when I had to help grow gardens in exchange for a portion of the products. Besides, I think you guys could use a little more of an independent food supply if you want to hide yourselves from the galaxy any deeper," she suggested. Kadann smiled and chuckled: for all his ability in premonition, Kadann sometimes had a lack of understanding of present needs.

_She makes a very valid point however, if I want to be fully independent from any major governments in the galaxy then I am going to need to have gardeners grow our food. Hm, perhaps I can use this to bargain for a little more as well_ Kadann thought, smiling. "Throw in Terras Kasi training-after you give birth-for my bodyguards and you have yourself a deal," he said aloud. "How did I know you were going to ask that out of me?" she teased him.

"I have a stretcher ready to carry you up the stairs. Your room is ready and we will be having supper in a few hours, it would honor me if you would join us. By the way, would you mind me saying that you could use a less cumbersome mechanical arm?" he replied with a smile. Arden examined her right arm and had to admit that it did have a little unnatural heaviness to it which was discomforting.

"Do you have the parts for that to be possible?" she asked. "I wouldn't offer it if I didn't have the equipment to give it to you," he answered. "Is there a price for this too or is it on the house?" she inquired. Kadann chuckled, humored by what Arden Lyn had asked but reminded himself that he had already demanded enough of her.

"No, this one will be on the house. In fact, I can even arrange to have it prepared and applied to you while you wait for supper," he offered. "That would be most excellent, Supreme Prophet Kadann," she replied with a smile. As she was beared away by the subordinates of Kadann who carried the stretcher, Kadann watched in admiration of the surprising amount of strength that she showed.

For six months, she had lived on nothing but insects, small animals, earned portions from farming families, and money she earned from working-most likely-at the Kalikori Tavern. And yet her baby showed no signs of ill development, not even when he examined it through the Force. _She has done amazingly well for herself in the environment that Tython offered a woman like her_ he thought. It was the truth, any other pregnant woman would not have survived more than two days without her man.

Still, he had to wonder why she deserted the father of her child or if he had told her to leave. Maybe he had deserted her rather than the other way around, maybe it had even been an unprotected one-night stand. He decided it was for the best, in the end, to not bother with the details of how she got pregnant but it still fascinated that she had been able to survive Tython when it would kill all others. _I'll ask her how she survived at suppertime, might make for some interesting conversation_ he vowed.

"Is it really wise for us to help her as much as you have offered to give her?" Jedgar asked him when they were alone. "You are starting to sound like the stereotypical Dark Jedi or Sith Lord, Jedgar. We Prophets have the objective of helping anyone who asks us for their help as much as we can. Especially if that someone was able to stand up against the Emperor and live to tell about it like Arden has," Kadann answered.

"She deserves our respect because of that?" Jedgar inquired. "Precisely: she didn't kill him but she defeated him in fair combat. Of course, we have to pay her according respect," Kadann explained.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Chapter Twenty**

Having scheduled his trip to Endor, Palpatine smiled that everything was going as he had foreseen thus far and not as Kadann had told him. "Is the Majestic ready for lightspeed?" he asked his crew. "Almost sir, we're waiting for the rest of your escort fleet to join us for the trip as well," a member answered. "That will take too long, just have them meet us at Endor whenever they get a chance," Lumiya interjected.

"No my dear, we need those ships in case something goes wrong. The Zaarin insurrection still lives and may attack us at any given time," Palpatine warned. His escort included two Enforcer-class cruisers and several squadrons of TIE fighters just in case a dogfight was in order. He also had a shuttle ready and fueled in case he needed to make an evac as a result of insurrectionist attack.

_Arden Lyn's had him on edge ever since she defeated him in fair combat, six months ago_ Lumiya observed quietly. "Tell me Lumiya, have you ever been to Endor or any planets along the routes it shares?" Palpatine asked. "Not recently, sir," Lumiya answered. "Then it should be an education for you when we go to see the operational capacities of the new Death Star," Palpatine stated.

"I look forward to it, sir," she said. Having traded her name in the service of the Empire, the woman once known as Shira Brie observed as the Emperor paced impatiently. "You could take my suggestion sir and let your excess ships deal with any insurrectionist," she suggested. "No, I told you before that we need those ships for our defense!" he repeated insistently.

"My liege, there are several ships coming out lightspeed. By the look of them, they have the Zaarin stamp on them," a crew member informed them. "You know the old saying: speak of the devil and he will come," Palpatine replied. "Sir, get in your shuttle and head for Endor; I'll handle this," Lumiya said.

The Emperor nodded, unsurprised that she would be quick to think of the shuttle and his eminent escape. "Destroy them, Arden Lyn. All of them," he ordered just before boarding the shuttle. "Yes sir," she replied with a bow before the shuttle hatch shut on her face.

"Milady, we have determined that the enemy fleet is nearly equal in every way to ours except for one: the _Erasmus_ is an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer whereas we've an Imperial-I. However that isn't the best part, the best part is that it's Captain is on board with his usual Tusken Raider bodyguard. We can destroy them now with the aid of a Super Star Destroyer we have on the other side of the planet," an officer informed Lumiya. "Who's the captain?" Lumiya demanded.

_A Tusken Raider? Unless this is Paris Zaarin, it would be out of place for a Tusken to be with the insurrectionists in a fight against Imperials. But even now, I don't know why Arden demanded that he guard Paris as I'm sure she didn't release him from his life debt_ she wondered. "It's Admiral Zaarin's son, milady and if you like we can blow his ship to dust immediately," the captain replied.

"No, goad them into engagement with us and prepare to board them. I will deal with the Tusken Raider and the boy personally," she ordered. "Madame, are you sure that is wise? We could just call in the Super Star Destroyer and have it obliterate them," the captain suggested.

"No, they don't know that their true target is gone yet. As far as I can tell from my usage of the Force and the observation that the shuttle wasn't shot down. We can use that to our advantage if we play along and act like we are protecting the Emperor until we're ready to share the truth," she replied. The captain smiled, emboldened by the implications of the suggestion and to see to it that the Majestic was immediately prepared for boarding should the Erasmus pull them in the tractor beam.

"Since their goal is to capture or destroy the Emperor, they should be pulling us into their tractor beam any minute," he added when preparations were finished. "Good, now all we have to do is wait for them to do it and then we'll spring the element of surprise on them from there. Fight to the last man as though you're defending the Emperor but try to surround them while you're at it. It'll make for good attacks to their flanks and we need to reduce their superior number before engaging them head-on," she replied.

"Yes ma'am, I will have the men ready to do just that. Do you wish to be at the frontlines or do you want to wait and see if they push through?" the captain asked. "Paris and Hoar won't immediately revealed themselves but they will when they see how well we've held up against them. They'll come to stem the tide but we will let them succeed so that we can have them in our trap," she answered.

"And what do we do once we've secured them in our ship?" he inquired. "Detach from the _Erasmus_ and blow its engines to hell. The rest will be destroyed by itself from there," she explained. "I like this, defeating them by superior intellect rather than brute force," he observed aloud, smiling.

**"Reel in the _Majestic_** and do it now!" Paris ordered. "You sure that's wise, sir? After all, they put themselves right into the path of your tractor beam all too easily," Hoar asked. "Not speaking to you Hoar, I'm speaking to Thaddeus," Paris answered.

Thaddeus nodded his acknowledgement of the order and spread the word to the crew on the tractor beam. It was a matter of minutes, when the battles didn't hinder the beam, before the Majestic was reeled in and attached for boarding. _This will be the last battle to save the galaxy from the Emperor and from my father's stupidity_ Paris vowed to himself quietly. "Hoar, stay here with me and wait until Thaddeus confirms that he needs our help.

"He'll take the troops in first and make sure that it's either easy pickings or something a little tougher," he said aloud to the Tusken warrior. "Yes sir," Hoar said, reminiscing how they frequently used this strategy when in the accompaniment of Thaddeus. "I'll take ten thousand soldiers with me: unless the Emperor's gathered the finest, that should be more than enough," the old man told them. Nodding, Paris wished him luck and told him that he would provide the other three thousand if needed for the taking of the_ Majestic_.

While waiting, Hoar ordered the starfighters to keep their attack on enemy ships and the escort vehicles to ward off the rest of the fleet. "We wish to remain attached until such time as we've captured the Emperor," he added. Paris smiled his enthusiasm for this order and thanked Hoar for making it clear to them that the _Erasmus_ didn't want or need detachment. "If this goes well, this will be the victory of the Insurrection and the point where my father's idiocy proves greatest," Paris stated passionately.

"And if it doesn't?" Hoar asked. "Then we will be remembered for having tried to end an era of tyranny that should never have been allowed to start. We will not allow our reputations to be tarnished just because my father is Admiral Demetrius Zaarin," Paris answered. "You say that like you've grown to hate the man," Hoar stated.

"I have come to hate him, I confess. He's gone mad with desire for technology and will do anything to obtain only the most advanced so he can use as little strategy as possible. I'm the real brains when it comes to strategy and he knows that better than even I do," Paris replied. "Then let's hope that your superior skills have not been wasted on this one last battle," Hoar proclaimed.

**The Battle of To-phalian Base** was over long before Demetrius even had a chance to really fight. True that his fighting had stalled Admiral Thrawn's inevitable victory on that frontier but it was still his victory from the beginning. On the exterior, Demetrius was as confident as ever and still ready to claim his prize if he could. But on the interior, he was beginning to wonder if there was truth in his son's final words to him.

He wondered if he had underestimated Paris' strategical brilliance and also wondered if he should have listened to him sooner. But it was too late to ask for an apology for by now, Paris had already begun his battle at Imperial Center and was too busy to hear his father out. Additionally, he would probably be disappointed to hear he had lost the battle mere seconds after arriving. More than likely, Paris would gloat and say he told him so since Demetrius began his battle after Paris began his.

_He'll probably say that I'm another excellent engineer with shit for brains and call me senile. And I think I'll have deserved to be called all those horrific names for a change_ he told himself quietly. But keeping his focus on the present, he had a chance to seize _Vorknkx_ even now that the battle for its base was lost and he ordered his men to help him seize it. "We need to secure that ship for ourselves!" he added.

**Admiral Thrawn watched as** his final victory came closer and closer to approaching. He heard about the second attack on Imperial Center and knew they would be dealt with soon enough. With Lumiya, there was no hope for victory on the part of the enemy that she faced no matter who it was. In addition to her Terras Kasi training from Arden Lyn, she had perfected the martial arts known as Stava.

Not only that but she had perfected it so well that she was able to wrestle dozens of the Noghri who originated it to the ground before she even broke a sweat. Combined together into one brilliant form in addition to superb knowledge of the seven classic lightsaber forms, she was near-invincible. Of course, this was not his focus: his obsession was still on her old Terras Kasi teacher, Arden Lyn. For six months, she had virtually disappeared except for the brief Tython encounter with Inquisitor Tremayne.

He needed her Battle Meditation for his ultimate plan of galactic dominion to work and he wasn't willing to trade that for the most advanced weapon in the galaxy. Granted, he'd take it if offered but it was far from the prize that he wanted as far as trooper strength and stamina were concerned. The effects of Battle Meditation against the Yuuzhan Vong had astounded and hypnotized him completely. "Sir, we have cornered the _Glory_ and we have begun our bombardment," his captain spoke, interrupting his thoughts.

"Excellent, have you insured the malfunction in the hyperdrive's capacity to keep Vorknkx invisible without destroying the ship is working?" Thrawn asked. "Yes sir, as far as we're concerned it is set to detonate upon entering hyperspace. It is sure to end Demetrius' life, should he board it," the officer answered. "Good, I want to see that it does," Thrawn said.

"In that case, you're just in time. The _Glory_ is about to go down and our scanners indicate that Admiral Zaarin is entering _Vorknkx_ now," a bridge member interjected. Thrawn watched carefully, observing the shape of the ship protruding despite its cloaking device rendering it near-invisible. Go ahead Zaarin, make your escape; it's the last mistake you'll ever make Thrawn thought happily.

"Captain, tell General Stele that I wish him to return to the _Grey Wolf_ immediately. His part in goading Zaarin's attempted escape is over," he requested aloud. Stele arrived just in time to see the lights of the corvette's engines prepared to go into hyperspace and that's when it happened. A massive explosion, greater than any that was needed to reduce a corvette to ash, vaporized the _Vorknkx_.

"Thus is the fate of all traitors," Thrawn stated aloud, victory being his at last. He marched away, joined by General Maarek Stele who suggested that they go check on the Majestic "It's taking heavy fire at Imperial Center from Zaarin's son Paris and his fleet which is strategically superior. That is, to his late father but not to you or I or even the Emperor's Hand Lumiya," the General added.

"You may go and help if you wish but my orders are to immediately return to my synchronization of the Unknown Regions into Imperial properties upon the death of Zaarin. We must obey our ultimate master to the end, must we not?" Thrawn replied, smiling. "Aye Admiral, good luck to you then," Maarek said, clasping the Chiss' hand for what both of them knew would be the last time. "It's been great to fight alongside you, Admiral Thrawn or should I say Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo?" Maarek asked.

"You use my real name? Impressive," Thrawn answered with a salute. After Maarek left, he ordered his fleet to begin the hyperspace trip back to the headquarters of Thrawn's expansion. Even with his obsession with Arden Lyn aching at him, he wasn't foolish in obeying his master's orders.

**Everything was going just** as Lumiya planned: General Thaddeus had fallen, his troopers were soon to follow, and the next in the chain of command had called for Paris' assistance. "Milady, what happens now that you have brought out Paris and the Tusken Raider?" her captain asked. "I will challenge Hoar to single combat through saber and martial arts, he will not deny me. In the meantime, I want you and your troopers to take Paris alive so that he may be executed for all to see," she answered.

He nodded and relayed the orders for Paris to be captured alive and Hoar to be left alone whilst the rest of the troops needed to be wiped out. Bringing the lightsaber she had been given to her by Palpatine, who said he had stolen it off Lord Maul after their duel on Mandalore, she marched. Her march was not the proud march of an Imperial officer serving the Emperor as the captain hoped to see. Rather, her march to face down a former colleague and mutual friend of her teacher Arden Lyn was a march of bloodthirst and inner rage at her reluctance to kill someone that had once befriended her.

Even now that she had become the remorseless killer she needed to be in order to be an Emperor's Hand, she still had a soft spot for those she had served with whilst training under Arden. Truly, who could blame her when one considered that Arden taught them all to be fierce only to others, not each other unless they were sparring for a greater rank. Observing the carnage of her superiorly skilled stormtroopers slaughtering their numerically superior enemies, she sought him like a huntress. When she found him at last, she made her way towards him whilst deflecting blasterfire and cutting down anyone who got in the way of her blade.

Finally finding him just in time to see him run out of ammo on his blasters, she called him out in front of his men. "I challenge you Hoar, one warrior of Terras Kasi to another, and only the strongest shall survive," she proclaimed. Turning to see her, Hoar chuckled and briefly claimed to be glad to meet her again even if on such ill terms as these. "You know I would never turn away from the Empire even if it meant turning away from what I love," Lumiya warned.

"And you know that I shall never turn down a challenge if it allows me the opportunity to fulfill my life-debt to my ladyship," he replied. "Is she still alive?" she asked. Hoar thought about that for a moment as he withdrew the darksaber she remembered him being given, another Mandalore claim. "I see no reason why not though I haven't heard from her since she left Research," he admitted finally.

Sighing a slight sigh of relief, Lumiya admitted that she didn't want to do this but it was better to have Hoar be the target of her blade than Arden. "You wouldn't have been able to defeat her even with all your new skills anyhow, I don't think," he agreed. Then he did something that surprised her: he positioned his saber in the correct manner to indicate that he would go into Shii-Cho. However, Lumiya was not so surprised that she couldn't guess that Arden had secretly trained him in it.

After all, she was not one to just let Hoar have a darksaber without having some skill as to how to use it and Shii-Cho was a semi-universal style for lightsaber wielders to learn. "May the best warrior win," Hoar proclaimed. Lumiya nodded and charged him with the full agility of Ataru, figuring to let herself use it for a little bit before surprising him with the raw aggression of Juyo. In the meantime, Paris watched helplessly as his bodyguard engaged the Emperor's Hand and tried his best to intervene.

However, he was kneed in the stomach by a stormtrooper and hit between the shoulder blades with the pommel of another's blaster. This fazed him only temporarily as he turned to unload his full cartridges in both his pistols. When that was finished, he turned to the training that Hoar had given him but this was no match for the elite guards that knew how to counter it with their own usage of Stava. A guard subdued him into a Stava-induced slumber and slung him over his shoulder before walking away.

The captain then communicated the news across to Lumiya who ordered for every other trooper to be slaughtered. "This isn't like you Lumiya, please turn back from this dark path that you are only being consumed by," Hoar begged. "It is too late for me Hoar, I made my choice and Arden even stood by it on condition that it made me happy to do it," she replied. "And are you?" he demanded.

"For a time I was," she began as she continued countering his surprisingly excellent use of Shii-Cho with a combination of Ataru and Soresu. When she could get a good visual on what she needed to do when using Juyo, she seized the chance and literally swatted at the darksaber hilt. The ancient weapon's hilt was sliced in half as a result and the blade was deactivated forevermore. But Hoar, being one of Arden's finest students, had a solution to this that worked just fine for him.

When she came at him, he managed to wrench her lightsaber out of her hand and use his last blaster pistol shot to insure that she could never use it again. "We fight as equals as Arden Lyn would have wanted," Hoar told her. Then he donned the ready stance of the Variant of the Snake in what he knew might be his last great battle. Lumiya prepared herself as well, assessing him despite her ready stance for the Variant of the Assassin and looked for a point where she could use Stava on him.

From there, the battle lasted for the better portion of thirty to forty standard minutes whilst _Majestic_ detached from_ Erasmus_ and compromised her engines. The bigger ship went down and vaporized to ash within minutes as Lumiya had earlier predicted it would as the two kept fighting. "You have lost Hoar, I could spare you and grant you pardon if you surrender now," she suggested. "There is no honor in surrender Lumiya, my life-debt has to be paid in blood or else disgrace is forever," he said.

Lumiya understood though she didn't entirely like it but she sensed something about Hoar that was changing: he was wearing out and wearing out fast. Soon, he would give her an opportunity to switch into Stava and kill him instantly and thus end the duel and his life-debt. "So be it, Force Valor allows me to do this sort of thing all day if I choose to," she warned. Attacking with the full ferocity of the offensive property of the Variant of the Assassin, she cut through his defenses with relative ease.

Then when he could least hope to ever win, the outcome was sealed in favor of Lumiya when she made a chopping motion of her hand to his neck. This was followed by repeated palm hits to the chest, lungs, and face in the fashion of Stava. The result was bleeding of the mouth and nose that was nearly spontaneous and more than enough to slowly choke him to death. Granted, he could still speak even with his mask on but it was barely audible when he spoke just to reply to her comments.

"I'm sorry that it came to this, Hoar. I really am," Lumiya said. "Better that your dream be paid with my blood than the blood of the woman who most resembled a mother to you. Wouldn't you agree?" Hoar asked. Lumiya nodded in her agreement and turned to leave, hoping to leave before giving into her pity and remorse for her former colleague as her title wouldn't allow it.

But he stopped her just in time for there to be some glimmer of sadness for the fate of one of her finest friends yet. "Wait Lumiya, just... one request: let me die," he said. She knew what he meant: the bleeding wouldn't kill him quick enough but it would certainly be painful before the end. Nodding, she returned beside him and gave a quick twisting motion on his head and broke his neck. Death was instant and Lumiya turned away, knowing he wouldn't stop her now and yet even so, a tear escaped.


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Arden was making her usual rounds on the garden, making sure that the students were applying just the right amount of water and soil for the fruits, roots, and vegetables to survive. That was when Kadann asked for a private audience with Arden Lyn, his face telling her something bad happened. "Have you checked the HoloNet News lately? Not that I need it but I know you do," he asked.

"No why?" she replied. He gestured for her to follow him to a station that would play the HoloNet News, informing her of a broadcast that was coming up just as he turned it on for her to see. "And the latest news, the Emperor has arrived to Endor despite an attack above Imperial Center by traitorous Vice Admiral Paris Zaarin and his Tusken Raider bodyguard Hoar. Hoar has been killed by Emperor's Hand Lumiya and all enemy forces are wiped out except for Zaarin who was apprehended.

"When we report back in just a few minutes when we broadcast live footage of Paris Zaarin's execution by firing squad in the Imperial Square, thus marking the grand finale of the Zaarin Insurrection. Paris' father Demetrius was already successfully destroyed by Grand Admiral Thrawn when a cloaking malfunction vaporized him in his attempted escape. He was using the cloaked corvette called Vorknkx in an attempt to achieve this end but it didn't work out too well for him as it would seem," the news anchor stated tonelessly. Arden was stiff to the bone, frightened by what the reporter just said about Hoar and Demetrius being killed with Paris scheduled for execution without a trial's formality.

"This... this can't be," she whispered. "I'm afraid so: the fate of the Zaarin insurrection, as I foresaw, was never meant to be ended in victory. Demetrius' obsession with advanced technologies combined with his son's opposition to this obsession destroyed it from the beginning. Nonetheless, I'm sorry it came to Paris being publicly executed as you stand helpless to watch," Kadann replied.

"But why him!? Why couldn't he have gone down with his ship which his father didn't deserve?" she demanded. She had no means by which to actually produce tears but her child's reactions to her sadness were more than enough to add to the pain she already felt. However, her placement of her face into her mechanical hand was more than enough to show Kadann her pain.

"There was nothing you could have done for him or his father, not anymore than what you already did," Kadann told her sympathetically. "But I had the Emperor right where they wanted him, I captured him with nothing more than my power, wits, sabers, and bare hands! And this is what is begat from that successful defeat of the most powerful of all Sith Lords by myself?" she asked him. "Sometimes, the Force is seldom unfair to even the strongest of those who serve its dictates, such as you and I," he answered.

"The baby is barely more than two months away from being born and I already have the promise that its father won't be there to see it. I know I won't even have the chance to say goodbye before he goes!" she screamed, her sadness finally producing some tears though only some. Kadann held her head on his shoulder and let her sob there until she could no longer do it. "I once had a family myself, a wife and three children actually," he began after a time.

"What happened to them?" she asked, blowing her nose on a nearby tissue. "One of my children died of heart failure brought on by massive amounts of uncontrolled arterial clotting in her lung. My eldest son decided to enlist in the Clone Wars only to be hit with a grenade during the Battle of Saleucami, all that remained of him being his head, hands, and rifle. When this occurred, my wife became so maddened with grief that she hanged herself despite my best efforts to stop her.

"My last child, perhaps my greatest failure of all, was subjected to horrendous experiments in relation to the Dark Side. Experiments that the Emperor started but grew disinterested in, leaving me to continue the project by myself. The child's name was Azrakel and though I taught him to hate the Emperor and Lord Vader, he also grew to hate me to the point of blood vengeance," he answered. _Can't say I blame him, I turned him into what he is now despite the fact that he is my own son_ he thought to himself quietly.

"Hello and welcome back the HoloNet News and as promised, we bring you live footage of the execution of Vice Admiral Paris Zaarin the son of defected Admiral Demetrius Zaarin. His execution will mean the permanent annihilation of the Zaarin Insurrection which has been going on for half a year. One of our special reports, Lucia, is live on the scene," the anchor said after returning. "The Imperial Square is the scene of a crowded yet surprisingly silent crowd as folks everywhere have gathered to see this.

"It is, after all, once in a lifetime that the Emperor approves of a firing squad happening in the Imperial Square. As the soldiers chosen for execution prepare their blasters and march to where they will fire the shots, the audience is watching as the annunciator will ask Paris a few questions," the reporter said with equal tonelessness. "Will the prisoner request to be blindfolded?" the annunciator asked. Paris shook his head quickly, clasping his hands behind his back and standing erect as he ever did.

The executioner squad marched directly in front of him and turned to face them before placing their blasters at their hips. "Does the traitor of the Empire have any final words he would like to share with the worlds of the Galactic Empire before he is executed?" the annunciator asked. "Just some," Paris answered. Arden looked on, wondering with wide eyes what it was that he would say to the galaxy.

"When I first joined the Empire to be with my father, I was a drinking sot who enjoyed the company of too many women. I confess that this was a part of life I was once proud of and couldn't imagine living without but someone special came to my life, someone who made me ashamed of it. Because naming her would only endanger her-she knows who she is anyway-I will only say this: thank you, thank you for making me ashamed of that past life. Thank you for granting me the courage to defy my father's obsession for technology to attempt to rid the galaxy of a tyrant where he would not.

"And thank you for granting me the serenity to accept my capture with the honor and dignity of a true warrior of the light. But please, do one thing for me and one thing only," he began. "Anything Paris, anything!" Arden proclaimed though she knew he wouldn't hear her. "Name our child Naomi if it is a girl or Hector if it is a boy; either way you deserve a way by which to truly remember me," he said.

"I will always remember you, even when I am alone after sending the child off to school," she vowed. Again, she knew that he wouldn't hear her but it didn't matter: she had to release the passion of her sadness and her love out before seeing him die. "I tried to imagine a galaxy reborn without the Emperor, without Lord Vader, and without the Dark Side. And let me tell you, my love, it is a magnificent and beautiful picture that not even Heaven's Glory could paint.

"Wouldn't it be great to live in a time of peace, freedom, and love? A time where you didn't have to fear being you just because your ruler would kill you if you weren't conforming to them? A galaxy with renewed and restored serenity and passion, a true sense of safety without sacrifice? I'd like to think so even now as I stand to be executed with my greatest enemy yet: myself," he finished.

He signaled the completion of his final words, the questions and the admission that he was his own greatest enemy struck Arden Lyn and probably several people incredibly hard. The stormtroopers stood to attention and rose their rifles, waiting for their signal to fire at their target and silence him. Paris, in the meantime, kept his erect posture and clasped his hands to his side but closed his eyes. He breathed slowly, knowing that any one of those breaths could be his last upon the orders of the squad.

Several seconds passed of the stormtroopers just aiming at Paris and everyone waiting with anxiety for the final order to be delivered. "Fire!" the annunciator shouted suddenly. Paris smiled just in time for the stormtroopers to fire, one bolt catching his forehead quite fatally and another in his chest. As he fell to the ground, time seemed to slow for Arden as he watched his lifeless body float to the ground.

When his back finally touched down, she slowly got up and began retreating to her bedroom provided by Kadann when she first arrived. "I don't suppose you won't be joining the rest of us for supper? No meaning to be rude or heartless, I just believe some socialization to be a good medicine for this sort of thing," he asked. "If you don't mind Kadann, this is just more grief to add to what I've already dealt with alone: that's been more medicine than being stuffed in a crowd," she answered.

"I understand, have your maid let me know when you would like to have something to eat and she'll have orders to pick up whatever you want fresh from the kitchen," he told her. "Why are you so kind to me, Kadann?" she asked. "Yours is a pain unparalleled by any other being that I know in the galaxy and yet you still manage to tough your way through most of it. I admire that about you and wish to do what I can to show you that you don't have to recover by yourself.

"Besides, I'd rather have you as an ally than as an enemy even if I am on par with the Emperor in my knowledge of Dark Side power. And I can't exactly act like a Sith if I want to insure you don't turn on me like you did the Emperor as a result," he admitted with a smile. "Is this more of your control that you did with Merili when we last met or is this actual friendship?" she inquired. Laughing, Kadann was amazed that she still remembered any of that from their last friendly encounter.

"This is an attempt at genuine friendship, the strength of your mind is far too great and diverse for me to do anything of that sort," he said. Smiling, she retreated to her room to deal with her sorrow by herself, eating only when she and her child actually needed feeding rather than to relieve stress. However, as Kadann continued to check on her, a premonition donned on him thanks to mentioning his son Azrakel to him: it was a matter of time before the man came for his revenge. Knowing the powerful being that Azrakel had become, he didn't want Arden around for the day that it happened.

_I may not be able to prevent my own death but perhaps I can regain some of my old Jedi self by sacrificing my life for Arden and her child_ he told himself quietly. Jedgar wouldn't like it nor would any of the other Prophets if he revealed this to them but Arden was a guest, nothing more. She had no reason nor any need to be involved in what was an internal affair for Kadann and his servants. The sooner she was out after weaning her baby off breast milk, the better for all of them but especially Arden and her child.

**Two months later...**

Arden Lyn was lying in bed, still grieving for what had happened with Paris when she felt something that she had never felt before. Looking down after righting herself in her bed, she began to see blood ooze out of her genitalia and she knew it could only mean one thing: her water broke. She alerted her maiden who immediately spread the news all the way to Kadann's ear. Intrigued and excited, the dwarf Prophet dropped everything he was doing to see Arden Lyn give birth.

"Where is the midwife, we need the midwife now!" Kadann shouted upon seeing the sight of Arden birthing. After the woman arrived, she immediately told Arden to slow her breathing and just push to help her baby out. Her assistant nurses stood ready to assist the delivery of the baby and Kadann knew that these women would not fail. For one, they were some of the finest midwives in the galaxy and even worked for a company that had only done the finest in medical delivery of babies.

"Just breathe slow honey and push!" the lead midwife told Arden. She even demonstrated the kind of breathing she wanted her to do and Arden followed along. The effort was continuous and even straining on not just Arden but on the patience of the audience around her. They longed to see the newborn baby and Kadann especially longed to bless it after she gave its name.

Jedgar, however, was the only one who was genuinely bored after about the first hour of effort and he excused himself. "Let me know when it's almost over and I'll rejoin you," he asked Kadann. Though disappointed, Kadann let him go and knew that it was probably for the better that the gigantic man who posed as his bodyguard did just that. "Keep going Arden, you don't want us to have to knock you out with anesthetics and conduct C-section, do you?" the lead midwife asked.

"The hell is C-section?" Arden said as she continued with the effort. Briefly, the old lady demonstrated what she meant by pretending she had a knife and placed it across her belly. The fashion in which she did so indicated cutting and Arden knew immediately what she was talking about. She had had a stillbirth that had come partly because of a C-section whilst trying to give birth to Xendor's heir.

The motivation was more than enough for Arden to heave with all her might though the nurse quickly warned her against doing this for too long. "Just keep going at a good steady pace and we'll make sure to help you along the way," the elderly woman added. A few more hours passed, the audience slowly fading but not for one moment to Kadann leave her side: he needed to see this child. After all, when he had once touched Arden's belly to check for problems (he sensed none), he had foreseen that this child would be a powerful one with an incredible destiny ahead of it.

True that the most likely path for this child's future lied with the Jedi but she would be the most powerful amongst them. She would stand at a nexus between the Light and the Dark, the perfect entity that was an example of being everything and nothing at once far more than her mother had been. Yet even so, with such nexus as that, this child would nearly always choose the right path. She would lead the Jedi into a bright future that was greater than anything Skywalker could hope to conjure in his life.

Two hours after coming to this conclusion for himself, Kadann finally saw Arden Lyn give natural birth to a healthy young girl. When the nurses weighed the child after cleaning it, they were surprised to find out that she was a little over seven and a half pounds. Kadann ordered that the nurses finish what they were doing and leave mother and daughter be, both needing their rest. "What is her name?" Kadann asked, curious to see whether or not Arden would honor Paris' request.

"Cassandra, her name is Cassandra," she answered. "But Paris asked that she be named Naomi if she were a girl in honor of him," he reminded. "I love Paris, I really do but looking into her eyes are all I need to remember him. She has his light blue eyes, after all and that's better than having my golden eyes," she explained. Kadann understood at once that these beautiful features about her daughter were all Arden needed to remember the father even if she was denying him his dying request.

"I'll let you two rest for a couple days, then I'd like your child to be brought to the Chamber of Sanctity to be baptised by the Prophets of the Dark Side. I sense a great destiny ahead for your child and wish to give her as best a start was I can," he said. Arden nodded, holding her little Cassandra. "Thank you Kadann, how long do you think it'll be before she's weaned?" she asked after nodding her reply.

"Give or take, I'd say the typical baby is usually weaned off after about a year. You'll need to feed her nine to twelve times a day for the first one or two months. After that, she'll need only to be fed at least seven for about the rest of the time but slowly work to weaning her off before the year's out. Begin introducing solid foods about six months of age in order for the weaning to be done effectively," he explained.

He was surprised that he had retained this knowledge from when his wife used to feed their children at least thirty years ago for Azrakel, the youngest. "I will help you with the weaning process if you need you and will guide you through the basics if you wish. However, much as I hate saying it, I will need you to leave after the year is out anyway. There is a personal matter relating to Azrakel brewing on the horizon and I don't want you around for it," he added.

"What do I do once I'm out in the bigger galaxy again?" she inquired. "I have already secured you a one-way ticket to Ossus where you can get a job teaching Terras Kasi, if you wish. The ticket is all I can offer after having allowed you to raise your child to this point in relative peace," he replied. "It's all I would want if anything after such generosity, Kadann," she told him.

**A year later...**

"Thank you for everything Kadann, I will truly miss you. Without you, I don't think I would have ever been able to raise my daughter as well as I have," Arden declared proudly. And indeed she did do a good job: her daughter displayed very advanced intelligence for a baby like her mother did. She had already mastered the art of walking like Kadann and Arden had in addition to showing potential for talking before two years of age.

"Anything for the one woman I respect more than the Dark Side itself. After all, even now that the Emperor and Vader are dead, the fact that you defeated the former is still significant to us all. It gave the Alliance some hope when they found out as it did for all insubordinate Imperial citizens," he replied. "I was just doing what was asked of me without any thought of reward to myself or anyone else," she said.

"Keep that philosophy up and you will gain more than you have ever known even if it doesn't seem like you will," he told her. She hugged him and he kissed her cheek, concluding his goodbye by kissing the baby on her forehead. The sacrament he had bestowed on the child was one that would eventually help her reach the nexus, a baptism of sorts that opened her to both paths in the Force. Arden thanked him a last time then made her way towards the ship that would take her to Ossus where she would begin yet another existence, away from the eyes of the reborn Emperor.

Four months after that farewell, Azrakel arrived and slaughtered many of the Prophets including Kadann. Jedgar killed him in a confrontation via the lightsaber but was severely wounded in the process of doing so even with help from the other Prophets. About a few days later, on orders from the reborn Emperor who had a bone to pick with Kadann, Lumiya and her secret apprentice finished them off. With their obedient act of loyalty to the Emperor, Lumiya and Carner Jax had finished the extermination that Azrakel started and sacrificed his life doing.

"Thus is the fate of all who dare to question the might of the true dynasty of the Sith," Palpatine stated when she returned with the report of their destruction. In the meantime, unknowing of the ill fate of the Prophets though suspicious of it, Arden Lyn founded a Terras Kasi school on Ossus. However, she knew it would be only a matter of time before Palpatine renewed his pursuit on her. She knew him too well to not know that even if he temporarily relented, he would never truly give up on finding her.

Thrawn had returned to the Unknown Regions on behalf of the Empire and thus his protection was out of question. Demetrius and Paris were dead thus their forces were scattered so there was no returning to the insurrect. Worst of all, most of her students were dead, in the service of the Emperor (like Shira) and only a couple in the Rebel Alliance. She doubted the Alliance would accept her after her attempts on the lives of some of its leaders nor did she want them to accept her, considering all that.

But life as a single mother was not as bad as Arden had been taught that it would be for a woman. Granted, the views of twenty-five thousand years ago didn't mostly apply now but she did see the strange looks and the patronization on some people's faces. But instead of hating those people, she pitied them for hating them for their looks, she pitied them. Two parents had the ability to split the load that came with raising a child and while effective-when done right-, seldom ever had any true hardship as a result. For Arden Lyn, whose child lost her father before she was born, this was about to prove especially true in the years ahead even with the credits brought in by teaching martial arts classes.


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Teaching the most powerful variants of Terras Kasi (aside from Anger, Serenity, and the technique they formed when combined) to only the wealthy certainly had its advantages. One of them being that they paid the greatest amounts for each of their children to be enrolled. But the fact that at least ninety percent of these families had three or four kids they wanted to enroll meant great money. So great-in fact-that in just five years of settling down on Ossus, she already considered retirement.

But who would she pass the school onto if she did that? Did she pass it on to one of her clients' children or did she pass it on to someone else. Then it occurred to her, her promise to Livy the Vahla was still unfulfilled and she needed to find a Vahla bounty hunter. When a client of hers, who was a representative in the New Republic Congress, came to pick up his son she decided to ask him about it. "Where can I find a Vahla bounty hunter who's at least an expert on the martial arts, Terras Kasi?" Arden asked.

"All the Vahla bounty hunters are experts at Terras Kasi but if it's a master you want, I know one who spends a lot of his time in the bar not too far away from your school. He bears a tattoo on his left cheek of the symbol of his people and if you worked with Vahla before, you'll know the symbol. Shall I arrange an appointment for you to meet him at the bar or are you good?" he answered. "I'll handle it on my own, besides he'll like the money my school makes and a personal item I have for him.

"It's something confidential that concerns his people and would rather not share with you if that's alright with you," she replied. He nodded and thanked her for giving his son the usual lessons in the Variant of the Snake, Hoar's specialty when he was alive. Quickly receiving the credit deposit he made in her datapad, Arden was satisfied with the amount in it and decided to withdraw her letter. It was a statement of why she was retiring and how much she loved the students even as she had to.

Besides, it was time that Arden actually started spending quality time with her daughter rather than being away teaching martial arts and having her go to public school all the time. The public school note reminded Arden that it was time to go pick up her little girl, a ritual she constantly enjoyed doing. Waiting at the stop, Arden's heart pounded each and every time she waited for the moment when her daughter would inevitably get off the bus and come rushing into her arms. And when she did, eight minutes after her arrival, both were overwhelmed with joy as Arden lifted her daughter into the air.

"How was your last day of school, my intelligent little girl?" Arden asked, nudging her nose and forehead against Cassandra's before she spoke. "It was fun for once and not an insult to my intelligence kind of fun too!" she answered. Both laughed, knowing exactly what Cassandra meant when she said that to her mother. "You know what I was thinking of doing for a vacation?" Arden inquired.

"Let me guess, another trip to the Temple, go exploring the inside of it for more artifacts?" Cassandra replied. "Wrong: this time, I was thinking we'd travel the galaxy for a little bit. See some new worlds and face new challenges," Arden said. "Oh Mom, that is so awesome but what about your school?" Cassandra demanded. "I've made so much money for us that I can retire at any time and not expect to work for at least a few decades, if ever," Arden explained.

"That is so cool, Mom!" Cassandra exclaimed. "Yes it is cool but I'll need you to wait at home whilst I take care of something personal to me, okay? I promise I'll be quick and I've already got tickets to our first destination: the famous Onderon," Arden requested. "Would you like me to try and make us dinner again or do you want to do that, this time?" Cassandra asked.

"Who cooked yesterday?" Arden replied. "I did," Cassandra admitted. "In that case, I'll cook. You just do your homework and/or read a book until I get back, how's that?" Arden suggested.

Then she kissed her daughter's forehead, made sure she remembered the security procedures, then ran down to the bar so that she would take up little to no time with the Vahla. Immediately, she asked the bartender if he was around and the bounty hunter was revealed to her with a finger point. Walking over to him, she offered to pay for his drink as well as her own which was an offer he took before demanding why she was here. "I need you to do a job for me, one that may guarantee that you'll never have to work in the field of bounty hunting again," she said.

"That's a pretty hefty claim to make but you interest me this far, what's your name?" he asked. "My name is Arden Lyn, I'm a veteran of the First Great Jedi Schism," she answered. "You're also a wanted ex-Hand of the Emperor," he stated. "But I promise my offer will forget that you even heard my name," she replied.

"Oh really? Then what's the job?" he inquired. "I wish for you to take over my job as the sensei of a Terras Kasi school, where I've had the identity of Fantine Lyn for years now. The bonus I give you for taking it up is free," she explained.

"Martial arts schools do pay greatly enough, you have me convinced on that account. That school especially is paid well to teach kids the arts, what's the bonus?" he asked._ Great, I have his interest and now to lay the final blow on securing his service_ she thought. Taking the chip from out of her pouch, she handed to him and he initially seemed confused though she soon explained.

"In that chip are the ancient coordinates to the homeworld of the Ember of Vahla, which you and your fellow Vahla bounty hunters have been looking for. You may have to update the coordinates to suit the galaxy we live in now though I don't recommend it but they should still be valid," she said. The Vahla's face said nothing for a moment but his reaction to knowing he could reach his homeworld was beyond words.

For how could one put into words the end of a very important search being near when eons worth of one's ancestors failed to complete it before now? How could one put into words that the ultimate task of his entire culture, a task they died trying to complete, was soon to be over? "Thank you Arden and for this, I'll forget your name and attend to your school for as long as I live," he vowed.

"One last thing I need you to do before I let you do that: take this letter and read it to my students when the classes begin, I have a copy of the schedule that I will provide you as well," she said. Then she reached into her pocket and unfolded the schedule for him to see, that way her letter could be heard or read by all her students. "I'll spread the word to my fellow Vahla hunters and they'll confirm it for me, that way our people can begin strong and anew," he said. "Then it's safe to say our business here is concluded?" she asked.

He nodded and added that it was concluded for all time, shaking and kissing her hand as he did so. Smiling, she raced back home to her daughter who was likely hungry despite still reading a favorite book she might have checked out from the local library. "I know I'm normally not one to do this but it's about time, momma," Cassandra teased. Arden laughed, glad to see her daughter was diverse as well as intelligent and it reminded her much of herself as well as her father.

_If only you were alive to see her now, father. You would be so proud of what she has become_ she thought to herself quietly. _I can still watch you as a spirit, daughter. And I am proud to see what has become of you as well as your own child_ his voice echoed in her head.

_Is Depa with you?_ she asked. _I tried my best to get her out of the netherworld but she sacrificed her right to do so in order for me to have the power to keep watching you. That sacrifice was over ten years ago and even my power to stay with you is fading_ he answered. _But why?_ she asked.

_I hate to say it Arden but your time to die is soon approaching_ he replied. Arden went pale though her daughter didn't notice and even gulped slightly. _Do you have any idea when that will come_? she inquired. _None but I think that's why my power is fading and upon my inability to commune with you, you can expect to die any time he explained. How long do you have?_ she asked.

_I have at least another hour or so before I can no longer commune with you. Then I'll have to wait until you do die in order to speak with you again_ he admitted. She hid her anguish underneath, not wanting her daughter to see it but as she cooked the meal for them it did distract her. Twice, she had gotten burned because she was thinking too hard about it but it was just on the mechanical and easily repairable afterwards.

After the meal, Arden tucked her daughter into bed and went to meditate in ponderance of what would happen to Cassandra upon her death. She began to feel as though she had chosen a bad time to retire, she began to wonder what would become of Cassandra once she was no more, and other things. However, she decided only to think of her trip to Onderon and hope that she would not die there in front of her daughter. If there was one thing for certain, she knew that her death would destroy Cassandra if it occurred in front of her.

**Emperor Palpatine, revived in** an newer and younger clone body, was troubled. Sure he could use the Galaxy Gun to continue conquering worlds until he was finished. True that he could successfully corrupt Luke Skywalker in full if he chose to and he already planned to do just that. However, Arden Lyn the only woman who had been able to beat him still evaded him.

Seven and a half years had passed since that first defeat but now any who would support Arden and hide her were dead including the Prophets of the Dark a vision flashed across his mind, one that showed the Iziz Palace of Onderon then an image of Arden fighting, then her broken corpse. He knew from the vividness that it would be happening soon and excited, he ordered Skywalker to come with him to Onderon. If this vision was correct, he would have his revenge against the woman and he would be able to show Skywalker the true power of the Dark Side.

"Why would you be interested in Onderon, even if it is half a standard hour away from our current location?" Skywalker asked. "I have had a vision concerning it and the death of an old enemy who has evaded me for nearly eight years now," Palpatine answered. "And what enemy would that be?" he inquired. "Her name is Arden Lyn," he said with a smile.

Luke looked like he was surprised, knowing what Arden had done to him all those years ago. "But sir, is that wise? She defeated you once before and she could probably do it again," Luke warned. "True Skywalker that she defeated me but I warned her that if I had been younger then she would have stood no chance; now I am younger than her physiologically and want to prove it," Palpatine answered.

A shuttle that was already on standby was told to take the two of them to Onderon where his revenge against the Mistress of Terras Kasi would take place. _I am coming for you, Arden Lyn. You will pay for what you did to me all those years ago!_ he exclaimed mentally. Skywalker, in the meantime, watched with a little bit of dread at the excitement that Palpatine showed for this trip.

**Arriving to Onderon after** a few hours on a fine transport, Arden and Cassandra were both awed by the sight of Iziz Palace. Granted, they did have to duck from Imperial stormtroopers but the New Republic officers that tried to recruit people were friendly enough towards them. "Mom, why do we duck from the Imperials?" Cassandra asked when they finally settled into a hotel. "Well honey, do you know what a fugitive is?" Arden replied.

"I have a little bit of an idea, enough to be able to define one okay," Cassandra admitted. "Well sweetie, I am an Imperial fugitive. When I met your father, I joined your grandfather's resistance and attacked the ruler of the Imperials: their Emperor. Though I defeated him in single combat, I was forced to retreat and I've been a fugitive ever since," Arden explained.

Cassandra didn't know what to think of it but because the school she went to was funded by the New Republic, she held no hatred to her mother for her actions. Actually, she thought it would be something worth bragging about when the Empire was finally destroyed forevermore. "Perhaps it would be, might even help you find an excellent boyfriend," Arden teased. "Mommy, you know I don't like being around boys anymore than I have to be, I hardly like girls as it is!" Cassandra exclaimed.

"That's what bothers me. I'd like to see you making more friends and possibly even dating before it's too late for you to avoid becoming a loner," Arden admitted. Arden concluded it was best not to tell Cassandra about what her father's spirit had told her, it would be too much for her to know. "Maybe high school will present better luck than elementary school currently does," Cassandra suggested.

"A girl like you might have trouble until college, much as I hate admitting it," Arden told her. "In that case, I'll wait until college to get some action," Cassandra retorted. "You watch your mouth little girl or I'll wash it out," Arden joked. "You won't be doing that when I'm in college, big woman!" Cassandra joked back.

Both mother and daughter then roughhoused as parent and child sometimes do when the child was as young as Cassandra. Cassandra even made things interesting by trying to climb up her mother and mess up her hair so that she looked like a mad scientist instead of a fallen Jedi. "You just had your brains run from your head, little one. Time to put them back in!" Arden giggled as she heaved her daughter over her head and hung her upside down before shaking to give the effect she wanted.

For an hour or so, this play continued between Arden and Cassandra Lyn and it was a wonderful time for both of them. But both were soon exhausted and Arden lied down on the bed they had been using as their prop. Cassandra, the intelligent but ever-faithful daughter, crawled up to her mother and cuddled her head so that she could hear her mother's heartbeat as she slept. It was the most comforting sensation a child could ever hope to hear or feel from their parents as they slept near them.

**Arriving to Onderon, Palpatine** knew from sensing her that Arden Lyn was here but he also sensed someone with her. This someone was too powerful for Palpatine to use Essence Transfer on them but he wondered how he might be able to use them to his advantage all the same. Then he thought back to the final words of Vice Admiral Paris Zaarin, whose father had led the Zaarin insurrection. He had mentioned a childbearing woman that he had fallen in love with and thanked for the love she gave.

Was Arden Lyn this woman? Was this presence he felt belonging to the child she procured with Paris Zaarin? Could this be why Kadann was so secretive in his final conversation to Palpatine about what he was hiding? But more importantly, was this why when Lumiya and Carner Jax were sent to kill them, was this why they didn't find anything?

Why would Kadann protect Arden Lyn long enough to birth and breastfeed her child until weaning was complete? How was it possible that they had helped provide her a start in a world where Palpatine could not reach her until after his resurrection, at least? He didn't know how he could answer these questions and with his revenge so close at hand, he truly didn't care at the moment. Skywalker would investigate later but for now, Palpatine's priority was making sure that Arden paid for her deeds.

"Master, are we facing her together or are you handling her by yourself?" Skywalker asked. "Stay by me just in case I need your help but if I don't, I want you to search for the source of that other presence I sense. Inform me of what it is and bring it to me if it's centered around a person and not an artifact," Palpatine answered. "I shall do that, Master," Luke replied.

Palpatine was no fool, even if he now had the pride and arrogance that came with restored youth. He knew Luke Skywalker had not fully fallen to the Dark Side, not yet anyways. The Sith Lord knew that the boy was trying to spy on him and find a ways by which to kill him. Quinlan Vos had tried to decipher the Dark Side and defeat Dooku with a similar strategy during the Clone Wars.

But he didn't mind waiting for the perfect time to rectify this mistake in his security, a mistake that would bite him in the back if he didn't do anything soon. First though, Arden Lyn and he soon secured her whereabouts and began heading in the directions he was given by a recruiter. "Slow down Master, so long as Arden has someone that needs to sleep she won't be going anywhere soon," Luke suggested. Palpatine halted altogether, initially about to turn on Skywalker before continuing on with his vengeance but the boy was right.

Arden Lyn was probably the only woman in the galaxy that didn't need more than two hours of meditation to have energy for months thanks to her hibernations. However, because of this, whoever or whatever was with her would be needing rest and that meant sleep for that individual. Smiling, he congratulated Skywalker on stopping him from making a serious mistake and continued more slowly. After all, even with his confidence now, Arden was still alert to the Force and the slightest provocation from him could ruin his plans unless he was too close by for escape.

The hotel where they stayed at was soon in sight and to his surprise, it was fairly near the steps of the Iziz Palace. It looked as though the first image of Iziz Palace was true and hopefully, the next two images were also true. But the will of the Force worked in more mysterious ways than even he could ever hope to know. If it decreed Arden would die, she would die on this day but if it didn't then she wouldn't.

**Though initially confused by** the youthfulness of it, Arden Lyn sensed the Emperor after having a little rest with her daughter cuddling beside her. However, she was no fool and gently lifted her daughter into her arms before taking her to the restroom in their hotel room. "Mommy, what are we doing?" Cassandra asked sleepily. "You remember that Emperor I told you about?" Arden replied.

That woke up Cassandra immediately for it could only mean one thing: that he had found them at long last. "You'll kick his ass like you did last time, right?" Cassandra demanded. "I don't know, he's younger now and likely faster and stronger than when we last met. But whatever you do, stay in this bathroom and do not let anyone see you and don't come out until I call you," Arden replied.

"Yes mommy, don't come out until you call and don't let anyone see me. Got it!" the little girl said. Arden let her go in and quickly locked the door the moment she closed it, knowing Cassandra would still be able to get out by unlocking it from her side. Shivering, Arden wondered how he managed to find her when Antinnis Tremayne had failed to find her after their encounter on Tython. But she reminded himself that even as an old man, Palpatine could've snapped the Inquisitor's neck any day.

As a result of that ferocious power and how well he held up in their last confrontation, she knew better than to underestimate him. She knew better than to think that he would perform as good as a young version of himself as he did as the old rotting man she remembered. Grabbing her lightsaber from the suitcase that she had under the bed, she prepared to face him in combat in the name of her daughter. Revenge and old scores didn't matter, not even the fact that Palpatine was with another Force-sensitive threw her off in the slightest.

It was either repel her enemies and thus protect Cassandra in the process, or die trying to do what was right at last. _Come on Palpatine, whatever are you waiting for!?_ she asked herself quietly.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

For Palpatine, the scent of Arden Lyn's fear was enough to strengthen him but also to nauseate him. Whoever or whatever was with her was clearly of significant value to her to provoke this much fear and-protective instinct?-in her. But he ignored this and proceed to break down the door anyway, immediately being greeted by Arden's orange lightsaber afterward. He intercepted an overhead blow from her with his own cyan-blue lightsaber and rammed his enemy's blade into her face.

The blow landed near her right eye and put her through enough pain to place one hand over the wound whilst keeping the fight in Makashi form. "Pathetic," Palpatine mocked as he destroyed the lightsaber with a swift stroke of his own Makashi application. Then he sliced at Arden's belly and kicked her on the other side of her face with enough force to knock her on her back. "I warned you that in my youth, I would have been a match for you Arden Lyn," he hissed when he stood over her.

"And I told you to save the youthful reminisces for another time. Guess now is that time," Arden retorted, spitting blood at his boot after saying that. "You still hate me for not completing my end of our bargain, don't you?" he asked rhetorically. "Son of a bitch, you knew you didn't have the power to resurrect and wouldn't have wanted to even if you did," she snapped.

"Guilty as charged, Arden Lyn. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be finishing you off now and my apprentice has to be looking around to see what it is you're hiding," he replied, smiling. He rose his lightsaber just in time to be distracted by Skywalker breaking into the bathroom and calling him over. Arden's fear indicated that whatever Palpatine sensed earlier was hidden there and he smiled, curious to see what it was.

"Master, I think you'll like this one quite a bit," Skywalker said which escalated Palpatine's interest. When he finally arrived to what Luke was looking at, he knew that his search had paid off well. Next to the toilet, crouched into fetal position for the best hiding possible, was a little girl that Palpatine knew to be Arden's daughter immediately. Suddenly, he had an idea and it was an idea so nasty and vengeful even by the standards of Sith that it gave him the widest grin he could possibly muster.

"Skywalker, stay here and make sure she doesn't try to escape. I've got some unfinished business with this little lady's mother," Palpatine ordered. Marching back to where Arden still lied clutching her wounded belly, the Dark Lord of the Sith knelt to reveal his idea to the ancient woman. "Please don't kill my daughter," she begged before he spoke, nearly crying in the process. Chuckling, he assured Arden Lyn that he was not going to kill her or at least, not yet.

"I am going to enslave her, subject her to the most cruel experiments of Dark Side powers that I can imagine. Her mind will break and her spirit will shatter until she is no more than a blank slate for me to write what I wish on her. She will become no more than an extension of my will, disposing of any and all enemies I send against her until such time as they no longer exist. Then, when every last ounce of her power has been spent on destroying my enemies and succeeding, I will destroy her myself!

This is my will, Arden Lyn: that you die knowing that your daughter will become my pawn, my slave more than even this slave Skywalker can ever hope to be. She will know no love, she will know no comfort, and no remorse. She will only know hatred, pain and suffering until she has emanated her last pitiful breath of life!" he hissed, his voice rising until he was yelling into her ear as he spoke. He watched as Arden's own pain and sorrow rose until tears were gushing out of her like waterfalls.

"Good, I have broken your body and I have destroyed your spirit. You did that to me years ago and now, I have done the same to you: the only enemy that has defeated me and lived," he added. By this time, he had risen up from his kneel and asked Skywalker to finish her off for him as he couldn't bear the sight of her alive anymore. As Skywalker went to do that, Palpatine tried prying the little girl out from where she hid but in her despair, the little child accidentally Force-pushed the older man down.

"You are strong in the Force, little one. I shall enjoy breaking you all the more," Palpatine said with glee as he rose back up. First, he rose her up by Force Choking her then he delivered a dosage of Force Lightning before pulling her towards him. To his surprise, she was still wide awake enough to see her mother and peril and scream out to her as Palpatine carried her away.

"Forget about your mother, she is a traitor and you are mine!" Palpatine demanded. "Normally, I obey my mother in the rule of never cursing but you are a fucking dickhead! Put me down, you bastard!" Cassandra screamed. Laughing, the Emperor of the Galactic Empire assured Cassandra he would be rectifying her opinion of him soon enough.

**As Arden lied on** the floor in a desperate attempt to heal her wounds, Skywalker stood over her with intent to kill her. But she sensed that he had not even begun to be consumed by the Dark Side unlike his supposed Master. "Arden Lyn, before you go, I want you to know that I'm on an undercover mission with the New Republic. I'm trying to do what I can to bust the Emperor's operations within so that the Empire can be destroyed for all time," he said after shutting off his saber and kneeling near her.

"Then why are you acting as the Emperor's executioner?" Arden asked. "Even if he suspects that I am trying to destroy him, I can't rebel against him outright. He would be able to kill me before I even did so much as scratch him, never mind wound him," Luke answered. "Then, you're still with that New Jedi Order?" she inquired.

"I am," he replied with a nod. Arden's heart beat anew with a sense of hope that Cassandra wouldn't be broken into a dumb drone of the Emperor, after all. "Then please promise me that you'll save her daughter?" she begged. If she was going to die in the darkness of her past deeds, she wanted to be sure that her sacrifice meant her daughter being levitated to redemption's light in her place. Luke bent close so that no one nearby would hear what he said to Arden Lyn next, which was calming.

"Arden Lyn, I give you my word that I will save your daughter. She will become a worthy addition to my Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 and perhaps even a very powerful warrioress of the Order. My sister will keep her safe there alongside her own children whilst this crisis has yet to pass. But once she's secured there, I will make it my life's work to destroy the Emperor so this never happens again.

"Whilst there is still breath in my body, I will never rest until I have plunged my blade into his damned chest and cast his soul into oblivion for all time. I will not forget your sacrifice nor will I forget what Palpatine has done to people like you in the past, in fact, I will avenge those very people. You have my word, as a Knight of the Jedi Order, that I will fight to that end or my death," he said. "Then go: I give my daughter to your sister's keeping and tell her I love her and to never forget me.

"For by remembering and what we had together, I will be immortal to my daughter. By allowing you to save her from the Emperor, I give her the gift that I could never hope to possess myself," she said. "And what gift is that?" he asked. "I fell from the grace of the Jedi because I tried to help Xendor understand the machinations of the Dark Side and succumbed to it in the process.

"By giving her to your Order's keeping of your accord, I raise my daughter back into the Light with my bare hands whilst remaining in Hell," she answered. "To love another person as unconditionally as you love your daughter and to be willing to protect her at risk of life and limb... Arden, that love in itself is the key to see the Light of Redemption even if you don't know it now," he told her. "Perhaps you're right but while you fight against him, please take a word of advice," she requested.

Nodding to acknowledge that he was listening, she continued. "Just because you have seen battle does not mean that your courage has been tried. I sense that yours has hardly been tried compared to me or even to the Emperor. And untried courage, even if backed by the skill of the Jedi, is no match for that kind of evil hatred," she said.

"I will remember, I promise," he vowed. "Then I think it's time you at least made my death quick. The Emperor will be expecting you to have killed me by now," she stated. "You aren't afraid?" he asked.

"I am but now that I know my daughter will be safe and will have a better future than I did when I was that young, my life-though ancient it is-has been completed. Kill me Skywalker and keep your act until you're ready to kill him, I go to join my father and the rest of those I love at last," she said. Calmly, she closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable strike of his lightsaber which would kill her. And when it finally did come, she felt his blade seared its way through her chest, into her bloodstream, then out between her shoulder blades all within a matter of seconds.

"If that doesn't kill you instantly, it'll kill you within minutes. That's always the result of that kind of blow from a lightsaber," he said. Then, remorse clearly clouding some of his thoughts, he marched off to rejoin the Emperor and Arden's daughter. "A few minutes... are all I need," she said weakly though he wasn't around to hear this.

Returning near Iziz Palace, Skywalker wasn't surprised that Palpatine would demand what took him so long. "I was reminiscing on what I knew about how she had been useful to you and wondering for a bit how it was a shame such a fine asset was forced to die. Then I thought about the best way to kill her cleanly whilst enjoying her pain at the same time," he lied quickly. "Hm, perhaps there is hope for you as a Sith Lord yet though it was a little more obvious your father would become one," Palpatine said.

"I am nothing like my father," Luke warned him. "Of course not, I would not have had an interest in you at your father's suggestion of corrupting you if you were," Palpatine replied. A trooper came up and though irritated, Palpatine allowed him to state what he had to say. By this time, Cassandra was passed out with her head resting on the Emperor's shoulder while he carried her.

"Sir, there's been a breach at Imperial Center. It seems as though the New Republic is trying to claim that world back for itself," he said. At first, Palpatine didn't know how to answer that message since he hadn't been expecting Coruscant to come under attack. Frankly, even Luke didn't imagine the New Republic trying that despite the need to destroy the so-called Galaxy Gun.

"Prepare a shuttle for me to return there. Apprentice, take the child to my facility and see to it that experimentation on her begins immediately," Palpatine ordered at last. Luke nodded as Palpatine handed the unconscious child to him, her aura surprising the Jedi as he received her. "Yes Master," he said.

Palpatine disappeared at that point and Luke first ordered the pilot to take them to Yavin 4 and wave up a flag of truce. "There's a delivery I have to make. The Emperor wants me to set an example to the Jedi," he added. "Yes sir," the pilot stated.

Yavin 4 was not as far away from Onderon as Luke thought it would be but it worked all the better for him. When the shuttle was permitted to land, Luke immediately grabbed the girl and rushed off to greet his sister. "Luke, who have you rescued for us this time?" Leia demanded immediately. "This child is the daughter of Arden Lyn, her only child," Luke replied.

"The same Arden Lyn that defeated Palpatine at Coruscant, seven and a half years ago then disappeared?" Leia asked. "Yes, before she died she made me promise that her child would be safe with you. Please take care of her, Leia?" Luke replied. Leia nodded and immediately had her husband Han take her to a guest room where she would remain hidden.

"I gotta go back now, the Emperor will be expecting me at Byss," Luke said. "Very good, keep up the act and it may get us somewhere good," Leia told him. After he left, Leia saw her twin children run up to her and ask who the guest was. "Someone who will be staying with us while she adjusts to not having her mother anymore," Leia replied before shepherding her twins back in.

**Awakening from being unconscious** at last, Cassandra Lyn was surprised to see herself surrounded by a relatively friendly environment. There was food that she was more than willing to eat on the nightstand and plenty of medicinal water to wash it down which worked wonders for her headache. "You be careful there little one or else the medicine in that water will knock you right back out," an older man warned her. Jumping out of fright, she immediately demanded to know who he was.

"I should have seen it coming but don't jump too greatly out of your skin, I'm Han Solo. I'm an officer in the New Republic and you're in a base we've established for our safety. You're safe here too thanks to my pal Luke who brought you here when you were knocked out," the man replied. "Luke?" Cassandra asked.

"He is often called Skywalker by his enemies," Han answered. Then her memory came back, the memory of the one called Skywalker and of her mother being killed before her eyes. Of Palpatine vowing to break Cassandra until she was his servant and one he could use expendably. "Oh mommy!" she screamed, putting her hands to her face to try and shield her tears.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. You'll see: we'll beat the Emperor again and we'll make sure he stays dead this time. As long as you remain with us, there's the guarantee that you will be safe from him," he assured her. "Thank you sir but may I ask what planet I am on?" she asked.

"You're on Yavin 4, in an ancient Massassi Temple that's been acquired for military purposes by the New Republic. Every one of these soldiers will fight to the death to protect a civilian such as yourself and my children," he answered. "No one is ever truly safe despite what they may think," she told him. "True but there are always ways to improve safety so that that's not as painful when it becomes a reality," he explained.

Cassandra didn't know or understand why her mind was working this way, it was like the trauma of her mother's death had given her an enlightenment of sorts rather than grief. Granted, she was becoming a little more stoic than she had been before but she didn't know it was happening. "Yet when it does become a reality, what do you do then?" she continued. Laughing, he was surprised to see that a six-going-on seven year old girl was asking this of someone his age and smuggling prowess.

"Anything you can, anything you can. Hey, what's your name kid?" he replied. "Cassandra. Pleasure to meet you, I guess," she said.

She was being honest in her uncertainty, she hardly knew him and hadn't spent a lot of time around people aside from her mother and teachers. Han laughed and said that she could consider it a pleasure if she wanted to. "I've never met a girl as young as you and yet as mature as you are," he added. "I guess that's what I get for hanging out with a mother like Arden Lyn," she replied.

"Living a fugitive life that isn't even yours sucks, doesn't it?" he asked. "In her case, not really. But you would know about that sort of life?" she replied. "Long story made short, you have no idea," he said with a smile.

Cassandra and Han both started laughing and it wasn't an unnatural laugh either. Rather, it was the laugh of an older man sympathizing with a child who had made the sympathetic experience some fun. "Do you think it'll be safer that I stay out of this little war until the Emperor is no more?" she asked after the laughing. "That's what my wife and her brother Luke would recommend," Han admitted.

"In that case, I'll stay out but I'll be wanting Jedi training in return. That way, I won't have to hide the next time a big war comes along if you get my meaning," she said. "Luke said he already planned on doing that when he got a motion for a Jedi Academy put through," he told her. "Perfect, hate to be a dumbass in distress if I can help it," she teased.

Cassandra didn't know it but her standing in the nexus of the Force meant that she would be able to draw on the power of the Dark Side without actually falling into it. In the years to follow, she would train as a Jedi Knight and discover this power more and more. Along the way, she eventually obtained a friendship with Jaina Solo and participated in the Yuuzhan Vong War. She would be active in the Wars and skirmishes to follow and even temporarily leading the Jedi Order.

Kadann's prophecy for her destiny meant that she would eventually live to see the rise of the One Sith Empire under Darth Krayt. But in all that time, even unto her death just twenty years or so before the career of Cade Skywalker, she maintained a kind and gentle but sometimes stoic life-view. Despite her service to the Order and Palpatine's death on Onderon, one year after her escape, she guessed that this was a scar from her trauma that remained with her unto her dying days. "I guess you could say that despite his holocron remaining now, he left something even bigger behind," she once said.

She would have a husband and three children who all would become Jedi due to their own connections to the Force. Their children would influence and guide the Galactic Alliance, even participating in the fight against Krayt's Sith Empire. The line of Arden Lyn would live on even unto the ending of the galaxy, influencing the Light and the Dark Sides of the Force for good or ill. But all that is a tale for another day...

**The spirit of Depa** Billaba had sensed the death of Arden Lyn long before it happened and now that she was at its threshold thanks to the young man called Skywalker, she watched intently. Time was no longer of the essence in the netherworld nor did she think it ever would be. After all, time was a mortal concept for they cared about it enough to figure out when they might die. Of course, this knowledge didn't help Depa when she was killed by the Yuuzhan Vong Onimi but that was exceptional.

Not everyone in the galaxy knew about the Yuuzhan Vong and for certain, no one knew about the truce that Thrawn had established with them towards the last years of Depa's mortal life. But to mortals, Arden Lyn would have been dying in a matter of minutes though it would seem like eternity. Surrounding Depa were Arden's family as well as Arden's final lover and the father of her daughter, Paris Zaarin. "How long before she joins us?" Paris asked.

"You know better than to think about time here in the realm of the dead, Paris Zaarin. But if you insist, only a matter of mortal minutes which can be any length of time to us spirits," Depa answered. "Good, I'd hate for it to be long but if it turns out to be that way then it turns out that way," he stated. "No worries kid, we'll all be one big family except for Cassandra when Arden arrives," Arden's father said behind him.

"You really think so, old man?" Paris inquired. "Yes, I have already accepted you as family for the way you treated my daughter when you were alive. I never really did like Xendor being around her due to the Kashi Mer family tending to be a little more... abusive towards women as they got older. Unfortunately, much as she loved him when she was with him, he was hardly an exception in the end," Arden's father explained.

When Paris asked where Xendor was, he was told that he only needed to know that Xendor was living out eternity in a punishment fit for his crimes. For eternity, he would live in perpetual madness of the kind where he would be torn to pieces and put back together again and again. Paris accepted that answer to the question and just in time for Arden to heave out her last breath of life soon after. "She'll be back in our arms within moments now, excited?" Paris asked her father, who nodded agreement.


	24. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

As Arden lied on the hotel room that would see her death, the seconds of the minutes before Master Skywalker's stab worked its effects on her, she reflected on her life. It all started with her memories as a little child and the good ones at that too. The vision of her past as it went by her continued in how she was raised to use Terras Kasi and all the training of a Jedi Sentinel. She remembered loving her master in the way that a daughter might have loved her father.

That was when she was hit with the memories of Xendor and their love-life together. How he had proposed to her under a bright, starlit sky and married her the following day. The oath they took upon being married and their honeymoon unions soon after the wedding ended gloriously. Their attempts at children with the closest being two or three stillbirths due to the shock and trauma of birth.

But also the memory of Loki the Destroyer and how he had gotten his revenge on Xendor for an earlier offense on Columus. How he had used his superior strength and power (he was three times the height of normal human men with nearly seven-hundred pounds of pure muscle) had won the day. She remembered how her father had reluctantly forced to face her at Irkalla, destroy her forces, and place her in the trance for twenty-five thousand years despite dying in the process. "I'm coming home daddy, I'm coming home at last," she said.

She also remembered that she would be meeting her mother for the first time now and she would also meet all her ancestors again. If she was additionally lucky, she would be reunited with Paris since she knew that she couldn't be reunited with Xendor. He had refused to recant his evil deeds before he died and as such, was likely being punished in the netherworld of Chaos for eternity. Admittedly, she was somewhat disappointed but she had to remember that he was a descendant of the same line that had created the Kashi Mer Talisman.

Not only that but they had given it power so immense that Arden feared it too much to keep it around after her fight with Onimi. But then she realized that the visions she had been given by the Talisman made sense now: they were visions of the events that led to her ultimate. They revealed the reasons why the Jedi had condemned Arden and Xendor and why her father fought her when he did. These revelations, cruel and evil as they were, now made sense and she could finally rest easy in the knowledge that these deeds were long faded.

True that Kadann and his Prophets had seen to the preservation of the memory of the events but that was all they were: a memory. "Thank you Kadann, thank you Paris, thank you Depa. And my dear daughter Cassandra, thank you for being the star of my life," she said to herself, whispering it. But the whisper meant more to her than anything else in the universe had meant to her before this day.

By the time guests in the hotel she lied in reported what had happened to her and requested a medic, it was already too late. Just as she could hear them slowly approaching, just as they were about to enter her room, she exhaled a breath of life for the last time. To the medics that were investigating, she was now officially dead but for the will of the Force... For the will of the Force, Arden Lyn had found a form of salvation from the deeds of her past after waited twenty-five long millenniums for it.

**A/N: Hey guys, I just have to say that if I had to declare anything in writing this book especially emotional it would have to be the last three chapter, including this. Why? Because despite knowing I would have to kill her anyway, I had come to kind of love her by the time I did. Anyhow, I will be taking a break from writing for a bit but be sure to stay tuned for the final installment of the Arden Lyn Chronicles called Ashes of Despair, which goes back in time and explains Arden's early life and answering many questions at last. Thank so much!**


End file.
